Premium currency

Many games with in-game shops do not price items in pounds. Instead, you first buy a game-specific currency – called gems, coins, crystals, points or something themed – and then spend that currency on items. Because it is usually bought with real money, it is known as premium currency or hard currency. Most games also have a soft currency, earned easily through play, which buys more ordinary things.

Some premium currency can also be earned slowly through play, through events or a battle pass, but the main source is usually purchase.

Why games use it

Premium currency simplifies pricing across many countries and platforms, and lets a game sell bundles. It also has effects that critics point out. It separates spending from real money, so a price of 1,200 gems feels less concrete than its pound equivalent. Currency bundles are often sized so they do not match item prices exactly, leaving leftover currency that encourages another purchase. Larger bundles usually offer bonus currency, nudging players to buy more at once.

Working out real costs

A useful habit is to calculate what one unit of currency costs. If £7.99 buys 1,000 gems, a 1,500-gem outfit costs roughly £12 in real terms. Doing that calculation once for any game you play makes its shop much easier to judge. PEGI’s in-game purchases descriptor explicitly includes virtual coins and other in-game currency, so the presence of premium currency is flagged on a game’s rating.

Advice for parents

Premium currency is often how children overspend without realising it. Set purchase approval or spending limits on the platform rather than the game, so they apply everywhere. Talk through the conversion to pounds together. Some families prefer gift-card top-ups, which make spending finite and visible. Note too that premium currency is usually tied to one game and one platform and generally cannot be refunded or transferred once bought.