Making Money from In-Game Currency, Account Sales, Power-Leveling & Top-Up Services

Many players and small businesses earn money from games not by streaming or pro esports, but by providing game-related services and goods: selling in-game currency, selling accounts, offering power-leveling or boosting, and providing top-up or item delivery services. These activities range from informal one-person operations to organized farms and companies. This article lays out the mechanics, platforms, rough price points, realistic monthly earnings, and historical data where available.

Core business models

1. In-game currency sales (gold, coins, tokens)
   Players or farms grind currency, then sell it to other players or via marketplaces.

2. Account sales
   Selling complete game accounts with high levels, rare items, or rank.

3. Power-leveling / boosting
   Buyer pays to have their character leveled, items farmed, or ranked up.

4. Top-up / credit services
   Buying and reselling game currency/top-ups for regional users (common in mobile games).

Each model has a slightly different cost structure, customer type, and legal risk. Common to all are: time to produce the virtual good, platform fees or cut, payment processing friction, and enforcement risk from game publishers.

Historical earnings and market size (hard facts)

• Academic and investigative research into classic gold farming estimated that in 2008–2009 around 400,000 gold farmers averaged about US$145 per month each, producing a large global market for virtual goods. This figure comes from in-depth field research into early gold-farming economies.

• Broader mid-2000s estimates put the virtual goods market (including farming) into the hundreds of millions of dollars per year, with some studies valuing the market between roughly US$300 million and US$900 million in that period. Wired summarized these academic market estimates in contemporary reporting.

• For play-to-earn crypto games at their peak, surveys reported much higher short-term player income. For example, a 2021–2022 survey of players in one crypto game showed averages that, at the time of the survey prices, equated to around US$1,600+ per month for certain active players, though values were highly volatile and fell sharply later. These P2E results show how token price volatility changes real income dramatically.

These sources show two things: (1) classic gold farming was a substantial, low-margin wage activity in developing countries, and (2) crypto P2E models briefly produced much larger reported incomes for some players but with serious volatility and eventual collapse in many cases.

Typical prices & rates (industry norms)

Below are common price points observed across marketplaces and service sites. These are ranges; actual prices vary by game, region, supply, and enforcement risk.

• Gold / currency sales

  • Small quantities (mobile or casual games): $1–$10 per small bundle.
  • Larger, tradable PC/MMO currencies: per-1000 or per-million unit pricing varies widely; gross margins depend on supplier cost and shipping/transfer method. Historical academic work showed low per-worker monthly wages with high volume.

• Power-leveling / boosting

  • Per level charging (classic MMOs): historically as low as $5–$10 per level for popular MMOs; other models charge hourly or flat prices to cap. Raph Koster documented market signals that, for World of Warcraft-era markets, the average market value of a WoW level was around $8, implying very low per-hour wage equivalents in mass markets.
  • For ranked boosting in competitive titles, charges are far higher: $20–$200+ depending on current and target rank and platform.

• Account sales

  • Low/mid accounts: $10–$500 depending on items and level.
  • High-value or collector accounts with rare items can fetch thousands or tens of thousands in exceptional cases (records are scattered and often marketplace/auction-based).

• Top-up & regional credit services

  • Small fee over face value, e.g., 3–15% markup depending on payment routing and demand.

For service market access, major commercial marketplaces and escrow sites exist (PlayerAuctions, G2G, undisclosed smaller brokers). Direct person-to-person sales via social media, Discord, Telegram, or region-specific platforms are common too. PlayerAuctions lists power-leveling and related services as standard offerings for many legacy MMOs.

Realistic monthly earnings — scenarios

Earnings depend heavily on scale, automation, and whether the operator is a solo seller, a small team, or an organized farm.

Solo operator (part time)

• Sells currency or provides boosts a few evenings per week.
• Possible gross revenue: $200–$800/month depending on hours and niche. Net profit varies after payment fees and any account bans.

Dedicated small business (1–5 persons)

• Combines grinding, customer support, multiple sales platforms.
• Monthly revenue: $800–$3,000 typical for stable niches if demand is steady.

Organized farm or company (10s–100s workers)

• Historically, large farming operations in China and Southeast Asia aggregated volumes to create revenue in the tens or hundreds of thousands per year; per-worker wages historically low (see academic estimates), while owners captured the bulk of revenue. Academic fieldwork suggested per-worker wages at around US$145/month in 2008–2009.

Power-levelers and top boosters (competitive titles)

• A high-skill booster specializing in rank carries for competitive games can charge more. A booster who fills many orders can net $1,000–$5,000+/month, depending on reputation, reliability, and risk tolerance.

Play-to-earn scholarships / manager model

• In P2E schemes historically, managers providing assets to scholars could take a cut from scholar earnings. During boom phases some scholars reported $300–$1,600+/month depending on token prices, and managers could scale income by running many scholars, but the model collapsed in many cases when token prices fell.

Platforms and how to sell safely (practical)

• PlayerAuctions, G2G, EpicNPC, and similar marketplaces provide listings and sometimes escrow for account, currency, and service sales. Use platform escrow where available.
• Direct channels: Discord servers, Telegram groups, social media. These are higher margin but higher risk due to scams and chargebacks.
• Payment rails: PayPal, Payoneer, crypto (for high-risk offers), and local bank transfers. Crypto is used when buyers/sellers want lower traceability but increases volatility and complexity.

Legal, ToS, and enforcement risk (do not ignore)

Most major game companies forbid real-money trading (RMT) of currency/accounts and explicitly ban accounts involved in selling/buying. Consequences include:

• Permanent account bans and loss of sold goods or account.
• Chargebacks and payment disputes from buyers who claim fraud.
• For organized operations, legal enforcement actions and site takedowns have occurred historically.

Even when the market exists and generates income, the legal and terms-of-service risk is a major factor that reduces sustainable pricing and forces many sellers to operate semi-clandestinely. Historical police actions and fines related to gold-farming and RMT have been reported in multiple jurisdictions.

Practical advice & risk management

1. Use escrow or trusted marketplaces to reduce buyer disputes.
2. Diversify services (currency, boosting, top-ups) to avoid dependence on a single game or enforcement action.
3. Know the ToS: some publishers are aggressive about bans while others are lax. Track publisher enforcement patterns.
4. Keep low overhead if you are solo. High scale requires operational security and contingency funds for banned accounts or hacked assets.
5. Consider legal alternatives: work as a community manager, streamer, or official reseller when publishers license it.

Conclusion — realistic expectations

• Classic gold-farming historically produced low but steady monthly wages for many workers (academic estimates ~US$145/month in late 2000s), while managers aggregated revenue.
• Power-leveling and boosting can pay better per job but require reputation and accept platform risks; per-unit values can be low in mass markets (example average WoW level value circa $8) or high for competitive ranks.
• P2E models briefly produced much larger incomes for some players during token peaks, but these incomes proved volatile and risky.

If you plan to pursue these activities, treat them like any small business: calculate real margins after fees and potential losses, prepare for enforcement risk, and prefer platforms with escrow where possible.