Virtual items

How it works

Virtual items are in-game items that users can purchase for real or virtual currency or receive as a bonus. They have no physical form and are used only within the game. Examples of virtual items include skins, potions, weapons, and other elements that affect gameplay or a character’s appearance.

Main features:

• Flexible pricing configuration:
  • Setting a price for a single item in real and/or virtual currency.
  • Creating free items.
• Automatic detection of the user’s country and currency.
• Availability configuration:
  • Restricting item sales in specific region.
  • Limiting the number of items available for purchase.
  • Limiting the display time of items in the store.
  • Configuring items that are not available for purchase. An item can be hidden from the catalog but still be available as part of a bundle or as a bonus for another item.

How to set up

Set up via Publisher Account

1. In your project in Publisher Account, go to the Items catalog > All items section.
2. Click Add and select Virtual item from the drop-down list.

3. Specify the following parameters:
   • Image (optional).
   • SKU.
   • One or several groups the item should belong to.
   • Name.
   • Description (optional).
4. To configure how the virtual item is displayed in the store, select the appropriate status.

5. Set prices or create a free item in the Paid or free field:

1. • To create a free item, select Free item.

1. • To set a price, select Paid item and specify the price in real currency. If needed, configure regional prices.

6. To limit the number of items available for purchase, turn on the Limit number of times one user can buy this item toggle and enter the desired quantity.
7. To configure how often the limit resets:

1. 1. From the drop-down list, select a period:
      • Daily.
      • Weekly.
      • Monthly.
      • Custom interval – this is calculated starting from the item’s display start date.
      • No regular refresh.

1. 2. Set up the reset schedule based on the selected period.

8. Configure a time limit for displaying the item (optional):

1. 1. In the Show item in store field, select Limited time.

1. 2. Specify the time zone and the beginning and the end of the period.

1. 1. If you don’t want to indicate the end of the item display period, check the No end date box.

9. Configure attributes using one of the following methods (optional):

1. 1. Add attributes and their values in JSON format.

1. 2. Manually create attributes and values and link them to specific items.

10. Check the settings and click Create item.

Set up via API

To set up virtual items, you can use the calls from the Admin subsection in the Virtual items and currency group.

Display virtual items in store

The display of virtual items depends on how the catalog is implemented — through the site builder or via API.

Display via site builder

To display a virtual item on your website:

1. Create a virtual item.

2. In your project in Publisher Account, go to the Storefronts > Websites section.
3. In the pane of the desired site, click Open Site Builder.

4. In the Store block section, select Virtual items in the Item type field and select the item group you want to sell on the website in the Item group field.

5. Set an item card layout.
6. After making all necessary changes and preparing your website for launch:
   1. In the upper-right corner of the site builder, click Publish.
   2. Check the boxes next to the pages you want to publish.
   3. Click Publish.

Once the site is published, a section with a virtual item group will become available. If no items are displayed, check that their status is set to Available and that no time-based display limit is active.

Get virtual item information via API

To retrieve the virtual items catalog on the client side, use the methods from the Catalog subsection of the Virtual items and currency method group. Authorization is not required to use these methods.

Grant virtual items to users

Depending on the item type and integration settings, the virtual item is granted to the user in one of the following ways:

• If you’ve integrated PlayFab, virtual currency and items are granted to the user’s PlayFab inventory automatically.
• If you use a custom delivery system, all virtual items and currency are granted on your side. We recommend setting up a webhook handler to receive order data on your backend. The necessary data is included in the Successful payment for order webhook.

Useful links