Teens are putting Fortnite virtual money 'V-Bucks' at the top of their holiday wish lists
- Fortnite virtual money is one of the top asks for teens this holiday season, according to a recent report from Piper Jaffray.
- The virtual currency for the video game, called "V-Bucks," can be used to buy in-game cosmetic items.
- This is the first year in the annual report that V-Bucks - and cryptocurrency - have appeared in the ranking of most popular items on teens' wish lists.
If you're unsure what to get the young teen in your life for the holidays, you may want to put away the gift cards and cash in favor of spending money for the ever-popular video game Fortnite.
A survey of thousands of teens found that, for the first time, one of their most-requested gifts for this holiday season are "V-Bucks," the virtual in-game currency used in "Fortnite: Battle Royale." The annual report on teens' holiday wish lists, from analyst firm Piper Jaffray, also saw another newcomer - cryptocurrency, the "money of the future."
Fortnite, a multiplayer-last-man-standing type game, has exponentially grown in popularity since its Battle Royale mode launched in September 2017. The game's creator, Epic Games, recently told Business Insider that Fortnite has amassed more than 200 million registered accounts.
While the game itself is free to play, players can use V-Bucks to purchase cosmetic items and unlock features in Fortnite. Yet the digital currency is a hot commodity - players spend more than $200 million a month on V-Bucks.
Players can earn currency by playing Fortnite, but the rate of return is pretty low. V-Bucks can be bought within the game - the going rate in $10 for 1,000 V-Bucks. To put it in perspective, an outfit for a Fortnite characters usually costs between 500 and 1,500 V-Bucks.
The popularity of the game - and its minimum user age of 12 - has unfortunately made Fortnite players targets for scammers. Thousands of websites have popped up, luring in players with promises of free V-Bucks in order to access users' personal information.
The easiest way to buy V-Bucks as a gift is going to be with a gift card for whatever gaming console your Fortnite-playing friend uses - Xbox, PlayStation, etc. Players can redeem gift cards in the system's devoted store for Fortnite V-Bucks.
The list of most-requested items this holiday season also features popular technology products from Apple, including iPhones, Watches, MacBooks, and Airpods.