Pay-once house

Most of its games are sold at one price, with no paid currency or repeatable purchases.

Fair · Good practice

A company whose games are mostly sold once, at a known price, has less reason to design them to keep you paying.

What it means

The company earns most of its money by selling games outright, plus clearly priced expansions. Its games don't run on a paid virtual currency or an endless shop. It describes the company's main business, so one free-to-play side project doesn't cancel it out; each game's own badges show the detail.

How we apply it

We add it when most of the company's current games in the guide, and its main releases, are pay-once (or pay-once with optional expansions) with no paid currency. The note names any notable exceptions, such as free-to-play mobile games.

Companies in the guide with it

All companies

Related badges

Pay once Expansion Independent