Insights · 25 October 2026
Game economy basics: sources, sinks and a first simulation
Most game economy problems look like something else at first. Players say the game got boring, or purchases slow down, or a new event earns less than the last one. Often the cause is simpler: players have too much of something, or too little.
Map every source and sink
Start with a plain table. For each currency, list where it comes from and where it goes.
- Sources add currency: level rewards, daily gifts, events, ads, purchases.
- Sinks remove it: boosters, upgrades, continues, cosmetics.
The table often shows the problem straight away. A currency with many sources and one weak sink will pile up. Once players hold more than they can spend, rewards stop feeling like rewards, and offers that sell that currency lose their appeal.
Look at groups, not averages
An average balance hides the players who matter most. Split players by how far they have progressed and by whether they have paid, then look at how much each group holds and spends.
Two patterns are worth checking first:
- Non-payers who never run short. They have little reason to buy, and they may have nothing left to aim for.
- Players stuck at the same point. A sudden rise in cost can stop progress and push people out of the game. Compare the level or stage where they stall with the point where they leave.
Simulate before you ship
A first simulation does not need to be complicated. A spreadsheet or a short script can follow a few typical players through their first weeks: how many levels they play per day, what they earn and what they spend.
Run it for each type of player and ask:
- When can this player first afford the next important thing?
- Does their balance keep rising, keep falling or stay stable?
- What happens to those answers if we double this event’s reward?
A simulation will not predict exactly how real players behave. Its value is in catching mistakes that are obvious once you see them, such as an event that hands out a month of currency in one weekend.
Change one thing, then measure
Economies are hard to fix after the fact, because players notice when something they own loses value or something they earned gets harder to get. Make small changes, test them on part of the audience where you can, and compare the result with a control group. If a change works, roll it out. If it does not, you have lost little and learned why.