In-Game Purchases and Virtual Items: What Rules to Establish Before Release

A player buys crystals with real money, spends some of them on a character, and leaves the remainder in their account. Later, the studio changes the character’s abilities, and a year later announces that the servers will be shut down. What exactly was promised to the player at the time of purchase? Can they continue using the item, and what will happen to the remaining crystals?

The answer cannot be reduced to the phrase «virtual items have no monetary value». A purchase creates obligations for the studio, the scope of which depends on the product description, how the game operates, applicable consumer protection rules, and the terms of the app store. To avoid contradictions, these elements should be aligned before release.

Start with What the Player Receives for Their Money

An in-game store rarely sells products with identical access terms. Crystals are spent on future purchases, a skin remains visible in the account, a battle pass is valid for a season, and a boost disappears after use. A universal provision covering all these cases would be too vague.

For each category, its behavior should be described in advance:

• Virtual currency. Where it is recorded, what it can be spent on, whether it carries over between versions of the game, and how purchased units differ from those obtained for free.
• Permanent-access item. Whether it is linked to the player’s account, whether it can be restored after reinstalling the game, and whether access depends on the servers remaining operational.
• Temporary item or pass. When its validity period begins and ends, which benefits disappear after it expires, and whether additional actions are required to receive rewards.
• Consumable item. At what point it is considered used and what happens if a technical error occurs during use.

Rights to the game’s images, characters, and code generally remain with the rights holder. At the same time, the player must be provided with the access to the digital product that was promised at the time of sale. If a skin’s product page creates the impression of a permanent purchase, a hidden one-season limitation may lead to a dispute regardless of how the studio describes the item in its legal terms.

The Price in Crystals Should Remain Clear in Monetary Terms

When a purchase takes place in two stages, assessing the actual cost becomes more difficult. First, the player sees a package of 1,000 crystals for €9.99, then a skin for 750 crystals. If there is no smaller suitable package, the player will have to spend €9.99 to purchase the skin, while 250 crystals will remain in their balance. The price of «750 crystals» alone does not show this amount.

EU consumer protection authorities pay particular attention to the transparency of the cost of in-game items and practices that require players to purchase virtual currency in order to obtain an item. Therefore, the team should go through the entire purchase process from the perspective of a new player: do they understand how much money they will spend, how much currency will remain, and whether they will be able to use it?

It is equally important to determine how the balance is spent if some crystals were purchased and others were earned through achievements. Keeping them recorded separately makes it possible to handle a payment refund without mistakenly affecting earned currency. The order in which the balance is deducted should be established in the game’s logic and applied consistently.

Mobile games are also subject to platform rules. In particular, Apple prohibits setting an expiration date for in-game currency purchased through an in-app purchase. Therefore, a rule under which paid crystals expire after one year cannot be justified merely by informing the player about it before payment.

After Payment, the Purchase Must Reach the Player

For the studio, a successful payment and delivery of the purchased item are two separate technical events. The money may be charged while the connection to the server is interrupted and the item never reaches the player’s inventory. If the system considers the purchase complete solely because the payment platform has confirmed it, the player may be left without the item they paid for.

Before launch, it is necessary to check whether the game can re-verify the transaction, deliver the item without charging the player a second time, and provide support with the history of the specific purchase. For restorable items, changing devices and reinstalling the app should also be tested.

This part of the user experience affects the substance of the rules just as much as the wording concerning rights to the item. The studio should not promise that purchases can be restored if the account and payment system do not make it possible to determine who those purchases belong to.

Can a Sold Item Be Changed or Removed?

An online game evolves: the studio adjusts the balance, changes game modes, and reworks characters. Purchasing an item does not mean that all of its characteristics will remain unchanged forever. However, the nature of the changes matters.

Reducing a character’s power for the sake of game balance is different from completely removing a paid character without providing a replacement. In the first case, players should be informed in advance that characteristics may change as the game evolves. In the second, it will be necessary to assess what exactly was promised to the player and choose a solution taking into account applicable consumer rights: restoring access, providing an equivalent alternative, or issuing a refund where appropriate.

Particular care should be taken with words such as «forever», «exclusive», and «only now». For example, «exclusive» may mean a unique appearance, a limited sales period, or a promise never to return the item to the store. Marketing materials, the product page, and the studio’s actual plans should give the word the same meaning.

How to Plan Refunds Before the First Support Request

The phrase «all purchases are final» does not override a player’s rights if an item is not provided, does not work, or does not match its description. In the EU, the right to withdraw from a distance purchase and the conditions under which that right may be lost depend, among other things, on the type of digital content or service and how the commencement of supply is arranged. The same approach cannot automatically be applied to every in-game purchase.

A refund may be processed through the app store, in which case the game servers must receive information that the transaction has been reversed. Otherwise, the money may already have been returned to the purchaser while the item or currency remains credited to the account.

Check four situations in advance:

1. The item was not delivered after payment. Can the payment be located and delivery completed without charging the player again?
2. The crystals have already been spent, but the payment has been refunded. Which specific purchases will be adjusted, and will this affect currency obtained for free?
3. The refund was processed through the platform without contacting the game’s support team. Will the game server receive a notification and update the account status?
4. The item disappeared after a technical failure or reinstalling the game. What information will make it possible to restore access and distinguish a technical error from a refunded purchase?

The answers should be consistent with the support team’s instructions. If the rules promise to restore an item or consider a refund, support staff need access to the transaction history and a technical mechanism that allows them to fulfill that promise.

What to Do with Purchases When a Game Shuts Down

Server shutdowns are particularly sensitive for items that players have come to regard as part of their accounts. Unused currency, an active pass, and a skin purchased shortly before shutdown create different situations. A universal announcement stating that «the game is shutting down and no compensation will be provided» does not account for these differences and does not override players’ applicable rights.

The studio should determine in advance when sales will stop, how long the game will remain operational after the shutdown notice, and what will happen to each type of paid content. Depending on the product and circumstances, possible solutions may include limited access, transferring certain purchases, providing an alternative, or issuing refunds.

Continuing to sell currency packages after a decision has been made to shut down the game soon is particularly risky if players are not shown this information before payment. A notice on a separate page will not help if the in-game store continues to create the impression that purchases will remain usable for a long time.

Reviewing the Store Before Release

The final step is to compare the promises made in the interface with how the game actually works. This does not require rewriting the entire terms of use: it is enough to go through the key purchases from the product page to delivery and a potential refund.

Strong in-game purchase rules begin with an accurate description of the product itself. When the studio understands what the player receives, how much it costs, and how it will function after payment, the legal terms, interface, and support team can all provide the same answer.