Virtual Economies: Threats and Risks

Abstract

In virtual economies, human and computer players produce goods and services, hold assets, and trade them with other in-game entities, in the same way that people and corporations participate in “real-world” economies. As the border between virtual worlds and the real world grows more and more permeable, privacy and security in virtual worlds matter more and more.

Virtual economies first appeared as early as the late 1970’s in MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons), with the advent of dial-up bulletin board systems and research computer internetworking. The earliest and simplest in-game economies simply allowed players to obtain currency dropped by slain monsters or from in-game vendors who would purchase unwanted items (usually also dropped by slain monsters). This currency could be used to buy superior weapons, armor, or training to allow the player to more effectively kill (often more powerful) monsters and thus earn more money. MUDs and related games in the 1980’s began to use the in-game currencies for other purposes, such as creating in-game assets. As the complexity of MUDs grew, so did their economies, but because most MUDs were small in scope and run without profit by enthusiasts, there was little implied value in their in-game currency: the players who ran the system would simply conjure up currency whenever they or their friends needed it.

The original version of this chapter was revised: The copyright line was incorrect. This has been corrected. The Erratum to this chapter is available at DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-77366-5_37