In-game spending: how money really works in children's games

Why 'free' games still have a till: the free-to-play model

Many of the biggest children's games, including Fortnite, Roblox and Brawl Stars, are free-to-play. There is no price on the box because the money comes later, from optional purchases made inside the game. That is not a trick in itself; it is simply the business model, and plenty of children play for years without spending anything.

What changes is the shape of the decision. Instead of one purchase you agree to at the till, there are lots of small ones, offered at the moment a child is most excited, often in a currency that hides the real price. Most purchases fall into a few familiar types:

• Cosmetics: outfits ('skins'), emotes, dances and decorations that change how things look but not how the game plays.
• Passes: a season-long track of rewards unlocked by playing.
• Convenience and progress: boosts, extra lives or shortcuts, more common in mobile games.
• Random rewards: packs, boxes or spins where you don't know what you'll get until you've paid.

V-Bucks, Robux and the bundle maths behind virtual currencies

Most games don't sell items for pounds. You buy a game currency first, such as V-Bucks in Fortnite or Robux in Roblox, and then spend that on items. PlayStation's own UK store policy groups these currencies with boosts and other items 'depleted during gameplay' as in-game consumables, which matters later if you want a refund.

Currencies create two quiet pressures. First, it is harder to feel the real cost of an item priced at a round number of coins than one priced in pounds. Second, currency is usually sold in fixed bundles that rarely match item prices exactly, so there is often a small balance left over, which nudges a top-up 'so it isn't wasted'.

A useful family habit is to translate prices back into pounds together before anything is bought. Ask: how many coins did the last bundle give us, and what did it cost? That one sum turns an abstract number into pocket money a child understands.

Battle passes, rotating shops and the 'come back tomorrow' pull

A battle pass (sometimes called a season pass) is bought once per season and unlocks a ladder of rewards as you play. Many games also have a free tier of the same ladder. Because a season has an end date, unfinished rewards can feel like something that will be lost, which is a strong reason to keep logging in.

Item shops in many games rotate daily or weekly, so an outfit a child wants may disappear tonight. Daily login rewards and streaks work in a similar way. None of this means the game is unsuitable, but it helps to name these features out loud so your child can see the nudge for what it is.

The age rating body PEGI now treats these mechanics as part of a game's rating. Under criteria that apply to games submitted from June 2026, offers limited by time or quantity lead to a PEGI 12 rating; features that reward coming back each day lead to PEGI 7; and features that punish players for not returning, for example by losing progress, lead to PEGI 12. Our guide to age ratings explains the rest of the new system.

Loot boxes and paid random items: where the UK stands

A loot box, or 'paid random item' in PEGI's wording, is any purchase where you don't know exactly what you're getting until after you've paid: card packs, prize wheels and mystery boxes all count, whether bought with money or with currency bought with money.

In July 2022 the UK government published its response to a call for evidence on loot boxes. It decided not to bring them under gambling law at that point, and instead asked the games industry to improve protections. It said purchases of loot boxes should be unavailable to children and young people unless enabled by a parent or guardian, and that it would consider legislation if that did not happen.

In July 2023 the industry body Ukie published principles and guidance, which the government welcomed with a 12-month implementation period. They include:

• technical controls to stop under-18s acquiring paid loot boxes without a parent or carer's consent or knowledge;
• better age assurance, so games rely less on a child simply typing in a birthday;
• fair refund policies where spending happened without a parent's consent;
• clear information about loot boxes and their odds;
• a £1 million, multi-year public information campaign about parental controls.

PEGI has since gone further. From June 2026 the default rating for new games containing paid random items is PEGI 16, and in some cases PEGI 18. In October 2026 PEGI began re-rating existing digital-only games rated PEGI 3, 7 or 12 that contain paid random items to PEGI 16, a process it says will take time across all storefronts. So a familiar game's rating may change while your child is still playing it.

Gift cards, saved balances and the gaps in Ask to Buy

Purchase approval settings (often called Ask to Buy) are good, but they are not a wall. These are the common ways money gets spent anyway, usually without any deliberate sneakiness:

• Gift cards and existing balances. Microsoft notes that money already in a child's account, including gift card credit, can be spent without approval. Roblox's spending limit does not affect gift card redemption, and Epic's controls don't limit V-Bucks a child already owns.
• Someone knows the password or the phone. If a child knows your account password, or can unlock the phone that receives approval requests, they can approve their own purchases.
• A different till. Controls only cover their own shop. Epic's PIN doesn't cover purchases made through PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Steam, Apple or Google, and Roblox's monthly limit doesn't cover Xbox. Google Play's approvals only cover Google Play billing.
• A new profile. On PS5, a child can sidestep controls by creating a new user or logging in as a guest unless you set both to Not Allowed in console restrictions.
• The wrong birthday. Age-based defaults depend on the date of birth on each account. An older birthday means fewer protections.
• Your account on a shared device. A tablet signed in to a parent's account with a saved card is the most common route of all.

None of these need a technical fix so much as a check. Walk through each device your child uses and ask: whose account is this, and what card is on it?

Zero-spend or a pocket-money allowance: setting it up on each platform

There are two sensible approaches. Zero-spend means nothing is bought without you, which suits younger children and is the simplest to manage. An allowance means a fixed amount the child controls, which suits older children who are learning to budget, and avoids a constant stream of requests. Many families move from the first to the second around secondary-school age.

Either way, the setting lives in a different place on each platform:

• PlayStation: Monthly Spending Limit in the child's parental controls, which starts at 0. See PlayStation controls.
• Xbox: Ask to buy is on by default for child accounts. For an allowance, add money to the child's Microsoft account instead of linking a card; Microsoft says that balance can't be overdrawn. See Xbox controls.
• Nintendo Switch: spending is not set in the Parental Controls app but in your Nintendo Account family group, where you can tick Spending Restrictions. An eShop card gives a fixed balance. See Nintendo Switch controls.
• iPhone and iPad: Ask to Buy, with Require Purchase Approval switched on. See iPhone and iPad controls.
• Android: in Family Link, choose what needs approval: all content, paid content only, or in-app purchases only. See Android controls.
• Roblox: a monthly spending limit you can set to 0, with spending notifications. Note that the limit stops applying at 13. See Roblox controls.
• Fortnite and Epic: Require a PIN for Epic Games Payments, plus the paid random items switch. See Fortnite and Epic controls.

Talking to your child about the in-game shop

Children rarely buy things in games because they are reckless. They buy them because a friend has the outfit, because the shop says it is leaving tonight, or because they genuinely don't connect coins with real money. A calm conversation does more than a ban.

• Ask before you advise. 'What's in the shop at the moment? What would you pick?' tells you what matters to them.
• Agree the rule in advance. Is it birthday money only? A set amount each month? Nothing until a certain age? Write it into your family agreement.
• Name the nudges. Countdown timers, 'last chance' banners and streaks are designed to hurry people. Spotting them is a skill children can use well beyond games.
• Separate looks from luck. Buying a specific outfit is a known price for a known item. Paying for a random box is different, and many families choose a firm no on those.
• Make honesty safe. If a child knows a mistake will be met with problem-solving rather than fury, they will tell you sooner, which matters for refunds.

The industry's own parent site, Ask About Games, offers a free family agreement called the Power Up Pact that covers spending alongside time and online interactions.

After a surprise bill: refund routes, platform by platform

1. Stop further spending first. Change the account password, remove the saved card if needed, and switch on purchase approval.
2. Gather the details. Your receipts or order history will show which account, which store and which items. Store emails often show the account name.
3. Ask the store that took the payment. That is the console or app store, not usually the game. Explain plainly that a child made the purchases without permission.
4. Act quickly. Most policies have time limits, and items that have been used up are harder to refund.

Where to ask

• Apple (App Store and in-app purchases): request a refund at Apple's Report a Problem page; Apple says the family organiser can request a refund for a Family Sharing member's purchase, and to expect an update in 24 to 48 hours.
• Google Play: request a refund from your Play order history. Google's help pages say you can ask for a refund if a family member accidentally made a purchase on your account, and that unauthorised charges should be reported within 120 days. Google also suggests contacting the app's developer.
• PlayStation Store: under the UK policy, games and add-ons can be cancelled within 14 days if you haven't started downloading or streaming them. In-game consumables bought during gameplay are delivered immediately and can't be cancelled unless faulty. Contact PlayStation Support with your Online ID, sign-in email and the purchase name.
• Xbox and Microsoft Store: use the refund request on Xbox Support, choosing the item and giving your reason. Microsoft says digital goods aren't refundable unless the offer or the law says so, so explain that the purchase was unauthorised.
• Nintendo eShop: Nintendo's UK page says it cannot give refunds for mistaken purchases. If a child spent without permission, contact Nintendo Support anyway and explain what happened, then set Spending Restrictions.

The Ukie principles commit member companies to fair and prompt refund policies where spending has demonstrably happened without a parent's consent or knowledge. If you can't resolve it with the store, your bank or card provider can explain what other options exist.