Economy · all games
Hard currency
A scarce currency, often sold for real money, used for premium items, skips and things the free currency cannot buy.
Also called: premium currency, gems, diamonds, crystals, paid currency
Hard currency is the scarce money in a game economy. Players get small amounts for free through achievements, events or daily rewards, and larger amounts by paying. It buys the things a game wants to keep valuable: premium items, time skips, extra lives, gacha pulls or a battle pass.
Selling a currency instead of selling items directly gives a game flexibility. Prices can be set in gems rather than dollars, packs can include bonus currency, and players can spend a small free balance before they ever pay.
The trade-off is clarity. When a price is in gems and gems are sold in packs that do not match prices, it becomes harder for a player to know what something really costs.
In mobile games
Mobile shops usually present hard currency as a ladder of packs, with a larger bonus on bigger packs and a badge such as best value or most popular on one of them. Hard currency also appears as the price on revive, skip and refill buttons.
What to watch for
- Pack sizes that never match item prices, so players always have a leftover balance. Players notice and it erodes trust.
- Hiding the real-money cost of an action behind several currency conversions.
