Gamers all around the globe have started to purchase virtual coins on third-party websites, instead of buying them on the official games’ platforms. The coins are then used for in-game purchases in MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) games.

 

Websites such as G2G allow users to purchase virtual coins at a much more favourable rate compared to the official ones. As these websites are easily accessible online, this trend has steadily grown in the gaming community.

 

The reason why these websites cannot be taken down has to do with how they work. “The money they’re selling hasn’t been made through hacking, it’s earned within the game using bots,” says ‘Daan’, who plays Revelation Online.

 

Through bots, or automated accounts, these companies are able to make a lot of money fast, as their character moves around and goes on missions without being controlled by a human.

 

These accounts go against most video games’ guidelines, but bots’ usage prosecution remains a grey area. Even though banned users’ IP addresses are registered in the games’ systems, many players will use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to hide their IP and create new accounts to keep playing. It is a vicious cycle that is costing game companies plenty of money.

 

“They can keep on banning bots, but people will keep on creating new ones,” says Leonardo Pannocchia, who plays many MMO video games.

 

For instance, on Revelation Online, 9,000 aurums (in-game currency) are worth €99.99 (£85.50) on their official website, while G2G sells the same sum for £20.71.

 

Pannocchia has spent a total of about €200 (£171) on these websites, but a friend of his has shelled out ten times that amount in the last three years.

 

The virtual coins are not redeemable directly from the websites, though. “After you’ve paid, you’ll be given a time and an in-game location for you to meet with one of the company’s bots,” says ‘Daan’. The player will then receive money from the bot, making it look like an in-game donation – but of course, that only happens if they do not get caught.