How players use microtransactions in free MMO games

Posted by adairsawyer on February 7th, 2013

Microtransactions (also called premium services) in free MMO are game related services that players purchase in exchange for real money. Free players are those who play without paying and premium players (or members) are those who use the game’s microtransactions system. There is a large variety of virtual goods that can be acquired. We can differentiate two main categories: items or game subscription. Items are all sorts of objects, ranging from consumables to mounts. For example, in a free MMORPG players can buy costumes or outfits. Game subscription is a fixed monthly fee needed to unlock all game’s content and features.

Every free MMO has 2 types of currency: in game and premium. In game currency is obtained by completing in game objectives like: resolving quests, taking down mobs and bosses, selling items to vendor NPCs, to other players and so on. Premium currency is bought with real money and it is used to get premium items. Each publisher in the gaming business has a different name for its premium currency. Let’s say that a certain publisher is handling 2 or even more free MMORPG Games on its gaming portal. In order to access them, players are required to make only one account. In this case, premium currency is bound to the player’s account, not to the game itself and this means that players can use the same premium currency for all games on that certain portal.

One of the possible questions on premium currency is: what exactly can I buy with it? There are 2 main types of premium items used in free MMO: those which affect gameplay and those that are purely cosmetic. Those who wish to speed up character development can use premium items that increase XP gain or boost stats. Some equipment is also bought with premium currency. Cosmetic items are usually outfits, pets or mounts with no functional purpose. They are often called vanity items in free

MMORPG. An entry fee for special events, tournaments or contests is another thing a player might wish to buy.

Game subscription is a certain amount of money that players pay each month to have access to all content. Most free MMO restrict free members to a lower level cap, usage of certain items, access to game areas or to some features. By paying a monthly fee, the gamer unlocks all features. When becoming a premium member one might also get premium currency or some special in game items as a bonus. There are cases when access to special servers is limited to premium members only.

However, all free MMORPG also have common servers where premium members can interact with free members.

There are all sorts of payment methods through which premium currency is acquired. Players can use PayPal, credit cards and some free MMO even support payment via text message. There are cases, although fairly rare, when game publishers have an agreement with online stores. For every purchase in a certain store, a percentage of the total amount of spent money is transformed into premium currency for a free MMORPG. This is a win win situation for both store and game. The game gets a new member and the store gains a loyal customer.

For more info on free MMO Games, latest news, reviews and guides please visit our website. Whether you are looking for a new free MMORPG to play or patch notes for your favorite one, you will surely find useful information.