Virtual Economy

Virtual Economies are systems that enable users to control virtual currency and virtual items within a virtual world or other metaverse experience.

Many free-to-play games incorporate economies allowing players to earn certain items while purchasing others with real money. Economies fall into three categories:

• Closed (examples include World of Warcraft and Fortnite, where third-party marketplaces are typically prohibited by terms of service)
• Open and centralized (games like Minecraft permit creator economy participation within defined limits)
• Open and decentralized (blockchain-based games such as Decentraland feature player-to-player exchange systems designed with openness in mind)