“Players carry spending power between games. Developers earn from giving it a place to spend.”
One currency across games
Guildcoin is a portable digital currency for independent games. Players can acquire GC in one participating game and spend it in another. Studios can keep their own gold, gems and progression systems; Guildcoin is an optional shared spending layer.
How players acquire Guildcoin
In the proposed network, players can purchase GC directly from guildcoin.org, purchase it from participating developers, receive it from other players where a game's economy permits player-to-player transfers, or receive it as an in-game award. Awards use funded GC, and player-to-player transfers move existing GC rather than create new currency.
Every Guildcoin is funded
Each GC entering circulation must be paid for by a player, developer, publisher or Guildcoin Limited. Studios can purchase Guildcoin to award for achievements, events or promotions. They cannot create unlimited GC. There is no separate freely issued currency.
Developer revenue
When a player legitimately spends Guildcoin, the receiving game's developer can accrue eligible earnings. Approved developers may redeem earnings at a published rate below retail. That difference is intended to help cover payment costs, reserves, refunds, fraud prevention and network operations. Rates and payout rules remain under design.
A transaction in numbers (illustrative)
Suppose a player buys $10 worth of GC and then spends it in Game B. At a hypothetical 80% redemption share, Game B could become eligible for $8 in developer earnings. The remaining $2 is before processing fees, refunds, reserves and network costs; purchase-channel economics would also need to be agreed. This is an example, not a rate offer or guarantee of eligible earnings.
Why would developers accept portable spending?
A studio could attract spend from players who already own GC earned or purchased elsewhere. But portability also lets its own players spend in competing games. Guildcoin needs to prove that incoming demand, conversion and retention justify the integration work and potential revenue cannibalisation. That is a question for real developer pilots, not an assumed benefit.
Developers keep control
Each game decides whether to accept Guildcoin and what it can purchase or unlock. Studios control their own pricing, internal currency and progression design, including whether and how players can transfer GC to each other within the game's economy.
Funded rewards still work
A developer can buy Guildcoin to distribute as player rewards or promotional incentives. Those funded coins travel with the player into other participating games. This avoids unfunded redemption obligations.
Managed service, open protocol
A future Guildcoin operator may run the wallet, ledger, payment and settlement systems. Open SDKs and protocol specifications are planned, not currently available. The proposed Verity layer aims to provide independent transparency of monetary state without making normal game payments blockchain transactions.
Trust, regulation and platform constraints
Because players can purchase Guildcoin and eligible developers can redeem it for real money, financial rules, payment infrastructure, fraud controls and store policies require specialist review. The first stage is developer validation and test-only trials, not a live financial product.
Currency first
Portable universal game assets might become a future addition, but the core product is one funded currency and a route to developer revenue.
What we still need to learn
- Would indie developers integrate a portable currency at all?
- Would studios accept Guildcoin bought in another game?
- What payout share would make integration worthwhile?
- What controls are required to prevent farming and circular fraud?
- Which platforms and SDKs should be first-class at launch?
- What proof would developers need before trusting Guildcoin?
For details on the project's present status and what is still unverified, read About & trust →.