Introduction

The video game industry has evolved rapidly since the days of the Atari. With the rise of online gaming, the emergence of microtransactions grew along with the industry. Microtransactions have become an increasingly common feature of video games. Microtransactions refer to small purchases made within a game, often for virtual goods or premium features. They can be found in a wide range of games, from mobile games to triple-A titles, and have proven to be a lucrative source of revenue for game developers and publishers. However, microtransactions have also generated controversy among gamers and industry observers. When microtransactions were small, cheap, one-off cosmetic items, they weren’t looked at in the same controversial way as they are now. In this chapter, I examine the phenomenon of microtransactions in video games, exploring their history, how they use data, and the data that reveals their impact on the industry and the players.