Pay-to-win
In some games, players who are willing to pay for special items, downloadable content, or to skip cooldown timers may be able to gain an advantage over those playing for free who might otherwise hardly be able to access said items. Such games are called "pay-to-win" (abbreviated as "P2W") by critics. In general a game is considered pay-to-win when a player can gain any gameplay advantage over their non-paying peers. Market research indicates that pay-to-win mechanics are considered much more acceptable by players in China than in Western countries, possibly because Chinese players are more habituated to recurring costs associated with gaming, such as
gaming café fees.
[41]
A common suggestion for avoiding pay-to-win is for payments to only be used to broaden the experience without affecting gameplay.
[42] For example, some games, such as
Dota 2,
Fortnite Battle Royale, and
StarCraft II, only allow the purchase of cosmetic items, meaning that a player who has spent money on the game will still be on the same level as a player who has not. Others suggest finding a balance where a game encourages players to pay for extra content that enhances the game without making the free version feel limited by comparison.
[43] This theory is that players who do not pay for items would still increase awareness of it through
word of mouth marketing, which ultimately benefits the game indirectly.
[41][44]
In response to concerns about players using payments to gain an advantage in the game, titles such as
World of Tanks have explicitly committed to not giving paying players any advantages over their non-paying peers, while allowing the users buying the "gold" or "premium" ammo and expendables without paying the real money. However, features affecting gameplay and
win rate, such as purchasing a 100% crew training level, a premium account, premium vehicles, and converting
experience points to free experience points, remain available for the paying customers only.
[45][46]