In my GDC talk, I explained how the fictional economies of Final Fantasy in the 1990s games got young people spending money on gaming when their finances were low, by reflecting the loss of stability of the...

If you're going to make money from in-app purchases, your game has a fictional economy of some sort. The story your game tells about its economy, and the place of players in that economy, sends out a...

The Chinese Ministries of Culture and Commerce announced on Monday that the trading of virtual currency for real world cash is to be banned outright, in the name of reducing illegal gambling and money laundering. From the...

Surely a sign of things to come – the BBC has reported that Swedish-based MMO, Entropia Universe, has been granted an official banking license. The license means that it can offer full banking services to customers including...

I know this happened over a month ago, but I’ve been trying to think about its implications. Band of Brothers, one of the biggest alliances in the Eve Online universe, was destroyed by arch-rivals GoonSwarm by the...

Linden Labs has acquired two virtual goods business within Second Life. The companies (OnRez and Xstreet SL) offer Web-based marketplaces that sell custom skins and kit for ingame avatars. For example, you buy a skin to make...

Two recent stories have demonstrated how the real-world economies of massively-multiplayer online games are thriving. TechCrunch reports that Playspan has raised $16.8 million to expand its virtual goods marketplace. The money came from existing investors including Easton...