Imagine a free-to-play RPG where one cosmetic outfit can end up costing as much as a luxury car, and it even makes every nearby character kneel when you walk past. That is the kind of buzz swirling around Where Winds Meet right now, because its ultra-premium Celestial Mortal skin has become infamous for the simple fact that, in the Chinese version, chasing it through the gacha can theoretically swallow around €40,000.

The Where Winds Meet phenomenon has already captivated millions of players in China with a setting steeped in local mythology and wuxia-style combat, and since its Western launch, more than two million players on this side of the world have tried it as well. Its open world is completely free to explore, and monetization is officially limited to cosmetics, yet one particular item has sparked a major controversy: the Celestial Mortal skin, an ultra-premium cosmetic that, according to current estimates, can demand an investment of roughly €40,000 to secure.

According to Everstone Studios, you first need to build a ship to unlock Celestial Mortal. The twist is that this ship is not just a vehicle you can control but also a kind of social hub within the game, which makes owning it an even stronger visual marker of in-game wealth and status.

You Cannot Buy The Skin Directly; You Have To Gamble And Spend

The outrageous price tag stems from the fact that Celestial Mortal is tied to a classic gacha system. Much like in titles such as Genshin Impact, players cannot purchase either the skin or the ship outright. Instead, they must pour premium currency into a random draw, hoping to hit the rare reward. Because these items sit at the highest rarity tier, the odds are extremely low. Even with a pity mechanic that guarantees the prize after a certain number of pulls, rough calculations suggest the total cost can climb to around 300,000 RMB, or approximately €42,000, if luck is not on your side.

On the Chinese servers, both the skin and the ship have turned into genuine status symbols. It is worth stressing that, while the gacha element might seem over the top in China, most cosmetics in the global release remain in a more conventional price bracket of about €20 to €30, which makes Celestial Mortal stand out even more because of its eye-watering cost.

Despite that, the notoriety of the Celestial Mortal skin has undeniably helped keep community interest alive and boosted the overall visibility of Where Winds Meet. For those who own it, the skin turns their character into a walking badge of prestige, but at the same time, it adds plenty of fuel to the ongoing debate around how far monetization of luxury virtual items should be allowed to go.

Source: 3djuegos