Free to download isn’t the same as free to play the way the game wants you to. Here’s how the money side works, and how to put limits on it.
Short version
- Free-to-play games earn money from cosmetics, battle passes, virtual currency and random rewards.
- The ESRB’s ‘In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)’ label flags games that sell loot boxes.
- The FTC has acted on loot boxes and confusing purchase screens, including $520 million from Epic and $20 million from Genshin Impact’s publisher.
- Spending limits, purchase approvals and gift cards are the most reliable controls.
Free-to-play games make their money from a small share of players who spend, and some spend a lot. That’s not sinister in itself; some of the best games around are free to play. But the store is designed as carefully as the levels, and it helps to know how.
How free games charge
| Model | What you pay for | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetics | Skins, emotes and other looks | Rotating shops that create “buy it before it’s gone” pressure |
| Battle pass | A season of unlockable rewards at a fixed price | Rewards can take a lot of playtime; skipping ahead costs extra |
| Virtual currency | Gems, coins or points bought with real money | Bundle sizes that never quite match item prices |
| Loot boxes and gacha | Random rewards | You don’t know what you’ll get, and the odds can be very low |
| Timers and energy | Paying to skip waiting | Free play that’s frustrating on purpose |
The currency trick
Virtual currency makes prices fuzzy, which is the point. Do the math in dollars before you buy. If 1,000 gems cost $9.99 and the skin you want costs 750, you’re paying about $7.50 and keeping 250 gems that buy nothing on their own. Those leftovers are an invitation to buy more.
Reading the labels
In April 2020, the ESRB added a notice for games that sell randomized items: “In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items).” It sits alongside the broader “In-Game Purchases” notice. Europe’s PEGI uses its own version for paid random items. Apple and Google require apps that sell randomized items to disclose the odds.
What regulators have done
- Epic Games, 2022. Epic agreed to pay $520 million to settle FTC complaints: a $275 million penalty over children’s privacy and $245 million in refunds for players the FTC said were tricked into unwanted purchases in Fortnite.
- Genshin Impact, 2025. In January 2025, the game’s publisher, Cognosphere (HoYoverse), agreed to a $20 million settlement over FTC allegations that it misled players about loot box odds and costs and collected children’s data. The order bars selling loot boxes to players under 16 without a parent’s consent and requires the odds and the real-money exchange rates to be disclosed.
There’s no federal law in the U.S. that specifically regulates loot boxes, but deceptive and unfair practices are illegal, as both cases show. Some countries go further; Belgium treats paid loot boxes as gambling.
Setting limits
- Consoles: child accounts on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch can have spending limits or require a parent’s approval.
- Phones and tablets: Apple’s Ask to Buy and Google Play’s purchase approvals send each purchase to a parent first.
- PC: Steam Families lets children request purchases for a parent to approve.
- Payment: a gift card or prepaid balance caps the damage in a way a saved credit card never will.
Heads up
Watch for “free” currency offers outside the game. Sites and strangers promising free currency in exchange for your login are a common way accounts get stolen.
If a purchase has already gone wrong, our guide to digital game refunds explains each store’s rules. And if you’re spending every month anyway, compare it with a game subscription; for some players a flat fee is the cheaper habit.
Quick questions
Can I get a refund for something my child bought in a game?
Ask the store that took the payment, whether that’s a console store, an app store or the game’s own shop, and do it quickly. Used-up virtual items are often non-refundable, so turn on purchase approvals to stop it happening again.
Are battle passes better value than loot boxes?
They’re more transparent, since you can see every reward before paying. Whether they’re good value depends on whether you’ll play enough to unlock the things you want.
Where can I find loot box odds?
In the game’s store screens or support site. Apple and Google require apps to disclose them, and Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony said in 2019 that they would require disclosure for paid loot boxes in games on their platforms.
Store policies, subscription terms and platform features change often. This guide is general information for players in the U.S., not legal advice; check the current terms on the store’s or platform’s own help pages before relying on them.