$30 Dogs, bribing Year Beasts, and the tricky balance of Free-to-Play

Years ago, $30 may have seemed like a ridiculous price to pay for a single in-game item. But with the arrival and success of extravagant spending on games like the space sim Star Citizen, expensive digital goods for free-to-play game are only going to become more common.

Valve, who has both Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 under its belt, does a big business in virtual goods. With each of its recent major updates to Dota 2, the publisher has released themed cosmetic items for $35 ($27 if you preorder), the latest of which is a magical shawl for the Crystal Maiden character. This includes a small pup that follows her around but does not affect gameplay in any way.