The audience is children, and the money comes from a parent's card.
When the player is a child and the payer is a parent, spending can run past anyone's intention, and children's data is valuable.
Memberships, currency or items paid for by a parent. The child chooses; the parent pays, often after the fact.
Browser worlds charged around $5 a month, paid by parents rather than kids, for status that existed only inside a browser tab. Mobile free-to-play followed, and children became accidental big spenders. Platform currencies (Robux, V-Bucks) are bought by children too, with reported breakdowns putting well over a third of Roblox's daily users under thirteen. And when data is collected from under-13s without parental consent, regulators act.
When spending is limited to an amount set by a parent, purchases need approval each time, and the game's data collection is minimal.
RuneScape (2001) and Club Penguin (2005) charged around $5 a month, paid by parents. Club Penguin reportedly had about 12 million accounts and 700,000 paying members when Disney bought it in August 2007. In 2014 the FTC announced Apple would refund at least $32.5 million to parents billed for kids' unauthorised in-app purchases. Roblox reportedly has well over a third of daily users under 13. On 19 December 2022 the FTC announced Epic Games would pay $520 million over Fortnite, including a $275 million civil penalty for allegedly collecting under-13s' data without parental consent and shipping voice and text chat on by default.
The FTC took action over Apple (15 January 2014: refunds of at least $32.5 million) and Epic Games (19 December 2022: a $275 million civil penalty for allegedly collecting under-13s' data, plus $245 million in refunds over alleged dark patterns). These were settlements, not admissions.
Historical prices and revenues are in US dollars at the time unless marked A$.
RuneScape's and Club Penguin's memberships cost around $5-5.95 a month, paid by parents rather than kids.
The FTC announced on 15 January 2014 that Apple would refund at least $32.5 million to parents billed for children's unauthorised in-app purchases.
Reported Roblox breakdowns put well over a third of daily active users in the under-13 bracket.
On 19 December 2022 the FTC announced Epic Games would pay $520 million over Fortnite, including a $275 million civil penalty for allegedly collecting under-13s' data without parental consent.
Covered in Video Games & Money: Ep 18 · Browser, Ep 24 · Mobile f2p, Ep 33 · Ugc platforms, Ep 36 · The game is a sensor.