Section 04 · 4 pieces
Somebody has to pay for the server
The browser game went from a price on a box to no price at all, and then to a great many small amounts. These pieces describe the mechanisms as designed objects — item shops, passes, draws — and the regulation that now attaches to them.
- 01Somebody has to pay for the serverFree-to-play is not a discount but a different accounting: acquisition is free and revenue comes from a small fraction of players.
- 02The Korean invoiceThe model arrived from Asia, where broadband penetration and PC cafés made subscription unworkable and item sales obvious.
- 03What a battle pass actually isA time-boxed reward track that converts engagement into a purchase decision, and it replaced the subscription for structural reasons.
- 04Where the odds have to be publishedSeveral jurisdictions now require loot box probabilities to be disclosed, which is a documented regulatory response with dates.
Every piece on the site, in one list: Everything, listed.