Guild Wars 2

So, two more factors to consider in long-term MMO economics (not to be confused with our young game, which is still growing in population).

The two biggest money sinks: Expansions and Retirement.

Expansions in MMO’s are notorious for changing the thought on money. Every time 10 levels are added, money is earned at an exponentially faster rate for players, making the gold pile that took 100 hours now only take 10 hours to gain. This DOES raise prices, but also greatly raises availability. Anyone can become level 80 rich now that level 90 drop rates occur. This changes the rules for everyone, and someone may have a starting advantage, but it’s not as heavy as it was 1 expansion ago. I personally believe that EverQuest’s economic downfall after Kunark was due to the god-tier items that wouldn’t be replaced in the expansion (no level requirements) mixed with the lack of “soulbind”. Once the rich became powerful, they would always be the rich and powerful.

But, the greatest reduction to inflation in MMO’s are players who quit. Those who get bored and stop playing (let’s call them dead) and never give away their cash (their inheritance). Although Anet (Let’s call them the government) never collects this unclaimed cash, it does not circulate into the economy, letting the available money dwindle. If you want to see a strong example of this, look at the web based game Kingdom of Loathing. Billion’s of it’s currency came into the game due to an exploit, but as players got bored and moved on, that currency was effectively lost. To this day, there are likely accounts that have enough of this illicit currency to RUIN the economy, but they haven’t really touched it.

Like any MMO, it’s about time. Time will settle our economy and markets and one day (sadly) enough players will quit that the currency will stabilize or even deflate.