PAYING THE
PREMIUM
Premium currencies, for those not
familiar with the term, are a form
of in-game money purchasable
with real-world money, which can
be spent on specific items in the
game. While premium currencies
have been around in games for
a while (and, for a brief horrible
period, in virtual stores on some
consoles), their relationship
with loot boxes has grown more
complex of late. Some developers
have used premium currencies
as a workaround to avoid selling
loot boxes directly, by having them
available to buy in game using a
currency that costs real money.
Free-to-play title Warframe was
guilty of this, featuring random
mod and relic packs that could
be purchased with the premium
currency Platinum, although the
packs were removed following
negative responses from players.
Premium currencies are often
purchased via microtransactions,
which have the same
target painted on
their back as loot
boxes when it comes
to some regulating
bodies. Some
games, however,
do away with all
that nonsense
altogether,
keeping microtransactions, but
with maximum transparency,
and no premium currencies
or randomness, such as the
excellent system that can be
seen in Respawn Entertainment’s
Titanfall 2. There, cosmetic items
were individually priced in dollars
and cents; if you wanted one
particular weapon paint job, you
knew exactly how much it would
cost you, and there was no element
of randomness involved.
Unfortunately, the likelihood
of premium currencies being
banned is far less likely, despitemany games featuring player-
driven economies that are propped
up by said currencies. Player-
to-player trading applies real-
world worth to digital items, as
evidenced by the massive loss
of wealth seen in some of EVE
Online’s giant multiplayer space
battles. While some lawmakers
might not like the fact, it seems as
though premium currencies—
unlike loot boxes—are
definitely here to stay.Developers sh
ould strive to
the awesome m replicate
icrotransactio
system seen in nTitanfall (^2).