Game Jargon Definition: “Pay-to-Win”

Pay-to-Win (adjective). - / pā to͞o win /

Both a game structure and a business model that is used by publishers to “aid” in players becoming more powerful within a game by allowing them—if they pay actual money—to build or acquire additional items, powers, or options more quickly or more efficiently. This is often seen in computer, console, and app games through the process of purchasing in-game currency. This in-game currency can then be used in various ways: to skip countdown clocks where one would otherwise have to wait in order to craft an item, or to buy loot boxes, a type of randomization system of acquiring specialized items.

Many tabletop gamers criticize customizable card games as being a pay-to-win model, since the more packs of randomized cards one purchases, the greater the likelihood one will have access to powerful cards and card combinations that can then be used to play in tournaments and other publisher-sanctioned play spaces.

Some states have determined that certain pay-to-win spaces, especially in electronic gaming, are a form of gambling; these have been cracked down upon by various state gaming commissions. However, by and large, the pay-to-win model is alive and well—though it continues to be controversial in the game space, both in terms of it being considered by many to be an unethical (or at the least rapacious) business practice. Furthermore, pay-to-win models tend to severely unbalance gameplay and heavily skew it in favor of those who are willing and/or able to shell out vast amounts of money in order to stay competitive.

However, within a community where gamers also demand and consume new gaming content voraciously, it may be difficult to meet the market demand in big game spaces without being accused of utilizing pay-to-win models in some contexts.