ARC Raiders is a premium title and costs $40, but the developers also started selling cosmetic items in the in-game store. The cost of skins could reach up to $25, which caused a noticeable wave of outrage in the community.
Embark Studios responded and announced a reduction in skin prices. While some are celebrating a "gamer victory," TheOnlyRealOne43 offers a different perspective on what happened — he believes that it was all planned from the beginning and that the negotiating tactic of "anchoring" (anchoring effect) was used on the players.
The idea of this tactic is to present some initial price that will then influence a person when making decisions — a further reduction will already be perceived as a concession from the seller.
Such an "anchor" in negotiations, depending on the situation, is a disproportionately large or small number (selling or purchase price):
The negotiation tactic using an "anchor" involves setting an initial price that affects the final agreement. By making the first offer, the seller can set a high "anchor" [very high price], which will affect the buyer's perception and make subsequent concessions feel more reasonable [...] The first number announced serves as a mental reference point, influencing the price range discussed during negotiations.
According to TheOnlyRealOne43, the authors of ARC Raiders deliberately presented high prices first in order to then "listen" to the opinions of the players, reducing the cost by a few dollars.
Thus, an influence was exerted on the players: everything looks as if it was their opinion that influenced the pricing policy. And bloggers had a reason to release material about how developers "hear the community."