The phenomenon of real money trading (RMT), where players buy and sell virtual items, currencies and even whole accounts for real cash, has been a controversial yet persistent aspect of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for decades now. A 2004 research paper by South Korean legal scholar Ung-gi Yoon took an in-depth look at the legal and economic complexities surrounding RMT, making a case that game companies need to rethink their hardline stance against the practice.
Fast forward 20 years to 2024, and the issues surrounding the real money trading of virtual goods are more relevant than ever, as online gaming, virtual worlds and their economies have grown exponentially in size and sophistication. Let's examine how the RMT landscape has evolved and what new considerations have emerged for players, game companies and policymakers.
Virtual Item Ownership in the Era of Blockchain
One of the key arguments in Yoon's paper was that in-game items should not be considered actual property or goods in a legal sense, but rather intangible objects that only have meaning within the context of the game. The intellectual property rights belonged to the game's developer, not the player.
However, with the rise of blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in gaming over the past few years, the notion of virtual asset ownership has been significantly disrupted. NFTs allow for verifiable ownership of unique digital assets that can be bought, sold and transferred independently of any game. A number of newer games are being built entirely around NFT-based economies.
This has led to intensifying debates around virtual property rights - should players have more control and freedom to trade and monetize the virtual goods they acquire or create? How do NFTs change the legal and economic relationship between players, assets and game developers? As yet, there are no definitive answers, but the use of blockchain is pushing the virtual ownership issue to the forefront.
The Metaverse, VR and Immersive Economies
Another major development since 2004 has been the rapid advancement of virtual reality technology and the growing buzz around the concept of the "metaverse" - persistent, shared 3D virtual spaces that may one day parallel the real world. Many envision the metaverse as having its own intricate economy with fungible and non-fungible virtual assets that have real value.
As VR becomes more immersive and virtual worlds more expansive and detailed, the potential for robust in-game economies increases. With the sense of embodiment VR provides, virtual items may start to feel more "real" and meaningful to players. Highly immersive VR MMORPGs could supercharge the demand for virtual goods and the incentive for RMT.
At the same time, the hype around metaverse real estate, where users are spending large sums on virtual land parcels, is already giving rise to virtual property speculation and concerns around artificial scarcity. As the lines blur between virtual and real-world economies, regulators may need to pay more attention to virtual worlds.
Game Monetization and Player Acceptance
In the 2000s, subscription-based MMORPGs were the norm and RMT was seen by many game companies as a threat to their business model. In 2024, free-to-play games that monetize via in-game microtransactions are now dominant. Many players have grown accustomed to buying virtual currencies, items or loot boxes, and some games profit immensely from this.
With in-game purchases now so commonplace, one could argue players today may be more accepting of RMT as an extension of that. The "pay-to-win" criticism of microtransactions echoes the debates around RMT and fairness. Modern games also often have official marketplaces for player-to-player trading that keep transactions within the game ecosystem.
However, the gambling-like mechanics of some microtransactions have also faced increasing scrutiny in recent years. As RMT typically occurs in unregulated third-party markets, game companies may still want to distance themselves from it for both legal and reputational reasons.
Esports, Streaming and the Player Economy
The 2010s saw competitive gaming and streaming explode in popularity, giving rise to new player-driven economies. Esports pros and content creators can earn significant income from sponsorships, ad revenue, and virtual item sales. Some games allow streamers to receive a cut of real money spent on in-game items while watching their streams.
In a sense, these player economies legitimize making real money from virtual worlds, even if indirectly. The increased financialization of gaming is a double-edged sword though. It has created economic opportunities for talented players but also contributed to burnout, addiction and a greater emphasis on monetization over fun.
Artificial Intelligence and In-Game Economies
An emerging factor in virtual economies is the use of artificial intelligence, both by players and developers. Some players are already using bots and AI tools to automate gameplay, farming virtual resources to sell for real money. As AI gets more sophisticated, it could have an increasing impact on in-game markets and player interactions.
On the developer side, AI is being used to create smarter, more lifelike NPCs that can engage in more convincing economic exchanges with players. AI can also help monitor and balance in-game economies at scale. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2022 highlighted the potential of combining gaming with AI and cloud technology.
Conclusion
From the mainstreaming of microtransactions to the rise of NFTs and the metaverse concept, much has changed in the gaming landscape since Yoon's 2004 paper on RMT. However, many of the core legal and economic questions around the real money trading of virtual goods remain unresolved.
As online games, virtual worlds and player-driven economies grow in scale and complexity, finding the right balance between developer control and player freedom, and between fun and profit, will be an ongoing challenge. Policymakers will likely need to pay more attention to the blurring boundaries between real and virtual economies.
At the same time, the potential for virtual worlds and their economies to create new forms of value, expression and interaction should not be overlooked. As we hurtle towards the metaverse future, it's worth considering how to harness the positive aspects of player-to-player trading while mitigating the harms. The virtual economic landscape may be shifting, but the conversation around RMT is far from over.
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