Anyone who raises an eyebrow at paying $85 for a Deep Rock Galactic mug must know they are 'the most complicated mug made industrially on Earth'

pcgamer.com:

A new Kickstarter collaboration for Deep Rock Galactic has been launched, and it's for «high quality mugs.» You won't believe how high quality these mugs are. The project is being managed by Scorched Steel Industry and involves replicas of the in-game dwarven mugs. «The DRG Special Beer Mug: a beautiful and safe-to-drink-from pint mug, designed to be of the highest quality while still being suitable for your everyday use!»

How much? $55 dollars to you sir. And as with many Kickstarters, the sting is in the shipping: That total goes up to around $85 for one mug when you include shipping. I mean, even if you've had a particularly fruitful day in the mines, that's a lot of money for a plastic mug.

Now, I'm not necessarily complaining. Grown adults can spend their money on what they like, DRG players adore the game, and the mugs look great. It should also be said that, with 30 days to go, the Kickstarter has sailed beyond its initial $200,000 target and is currently around $300,000, so lots of folk are happy to pay this price.

Still… hell of a lot of money for a mug. And what amused me about this is the rationale for the price. One person backed the Kickstarter for a dollar, only so that they could leave a comment for Scorched Steel Industry saying "$85 (with shipping) for a plastic mug is too expensive for many of us."

SSI's response is an instant classic. «We are aware the price of the mugs is quite high and not for everyone sadly. It is explained by the very high cost of the steel moulds and the number of parts requisited [sic] for each mug. A few of the manufacturers we talked with told us it might be the most complicated mug made industrially on Earth, and amongst the most complicated projects for them.»

I'm not sure exactly how, but «the most complicated mug made industrially on Earth» feels seriously on-brand for Deep Rock Galactic. But there's more! «We also chose a rather expensive polymer to get the best look and properties» and, very reasonably, «small