Epic Games says it is raising the price of Fortnite's in-game currency, V-Bucks, to "help pay the bills" because the cost of running the game had "gone up a lot".

The developer announced that from 19 March the price of V-Bucks will increase, to fans dismay, while bonus currency rewards will also be removed from the game's main battle pass.

But it added players will see a decrease in the cost of the battle pass, an optional seasonal pass players pay for to get special cosmetics.

Although it is free to play, Fortnite is estimated to generate billions of dollars in revenue every year, making it one of the world's most successful games.

It makes most of its money through in-game subscriptions and passes, what are known as microtransactions.