Everyone loves playing a good video game here and there. Some more so than others. Through gaming history there have been games which have really piqued our interests and therefore created quite a buzz back in the day. The amount that people spend on video games is pretty huge and that’s what makes the industry quite a successful one at the end of the day. America alone spent a total of $43 billion just last year for gaming; globally however the estimated revenue exceeds America’s value at $140 billion. Yet, it is quite clear that America’s passion for video games is like no other and certainly makes up a chunk of the annual revenue alone.

However, it is the in-game purchases that get our heart rates going and pretty much excited for them. The loot box system is one of the features that everyone is going crazy for within certain games, so we will be including game examples that have in-game features such as this to play. The loot box system is quite similar to how slot games work and that itself gives you a high dopamine kick for each new opening for every simultaneous game you play.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V and the series itself attracted much attention to the general public of gamers. The fact you can have guns, raid cars, deal drugs and become the perfect criminal, kind of makes the player feel like they have a double life. Many players were waiting patiently for this release and apparently, as soon as it hit the shelves, everyone was onto it. The game has sold over 135 millions of copies and despite being released in 2013, GTA 5 is one of the most sold games in 2020.

This game has multiple in-game purchases that could make any gamer feel like they have hit the jackpot and are living their best life. You can use real money to contribute to you purchasing the best cars, yachts, apartments and so on. It is believed that GTA have managed to make $6 billion from their in-game purchases, which is the most amongst all the games out there in history. To put things into perspective, James Cameron’s Avatar movie raked $2.8 billion upon its release. So, it is pretty crazy that a game has managed to take over a movie release in profits! But there you go, the power of video games.

Minecraft

Another game that became the PC Gamer’s 2010 Game of the Year had managed to capture millions of players for online game sittings-for hours on end upon its release. The Xbox release that came just two years after the PC release managed to attract over 4 million copies to be sold within the first half a year alone. Minecraft have also managed to grab partnerships with Lego which meant that players could explore more game themes for the online game, which meant more money for Minecraft! This had become such a popular global hit, that soon many people were watching and keeping their eyes on the developments to come from Minecraft-including Microsoft.

During the year 2014, it was clear that this game series was going nowhere and the original founders saw an opportunity. They managed to make $2.5 billion from the sale to Microsoft, which was a definitely great move from both parts, considering Microsoft had managed to create further profit from in-game purchases which has put their game revenue the following year, up by $400 million since Microsoft purchased it. In 2014 alone, Minecraft had managed to have over 90 million online world players and counting.

Candy Crush Saga

We all remember the time the Candy Crush had taken over our screens in the year 2012. This game became viral in a matter of months. Everyone was playing it and everyone had really liked where the game took players-especially in terms of the clever level advancements-all of which were available free via a mobile app that you downloaded to your mobile phone. The catch here was, since the game got more complex as the levels further increased, players would need to make in-game purchases if they wished to get boosters and bonuses to aid their gameplay. This game was so highly addictive that nine times out of ten, most players purchased the in-game goodies with hope of aiding their progress forward to higher levels. The game levels continuously grow, alongside the story line. You would think that this game would soon fizzle out, right? But no, this game last year alone had managed to make $930 million in just one year! So, there is definitely more to come from the producers at King. Watch this space.

FIFA

It would not be right to not include EA Sports Fifa games in the list. This game has become a huge franchise within the world of video games. We all patiently wait every single year to get the next season’s game in our hands. Each year apparently only seems to grow in terms of the revenue generated. For example, for Fifa 18, the game generated $482 million, whereas the Fifa19 managed to make a total of $790 million! Yet from the in-game purchases that players can make, the Fifa 18 had managed to make a total of $5.1 billion revenue! So, this clearly shows how addictive the in-game purchases can really be!

However, during the year 2019, the Fifa franchise had released a statement that they would stop selling their loot boxes features within the game, as there were many criminal investigations that took place from Belgium’s government and other international investigations, with claims that Fifa were not abiding by the gambling laws that were local to each single region. Other games such as Star Wars, Battlefront II had also decided to stop their integration of loot boxes and in-game purchases, since the political uproar surrounding it would have eventually become a nightmare. One thing is clear however, despite all the in-game uproar across the seas. Video games are going nowhere!