Virtual goods are non-physical objects and money purchased for use in online communities or online games. Digital goods, on the other hand, may be a broader category including digital books, music, and movies. Virtual goods are intangible by definition. and digital clothing for avatars, virtual goods may be classified as services instead of goods Sales of virtual goods are sometimes referred to as microtransactions, many online games now derive revenue from the sale of virtual goods. But it wasn't until the mid-2000s, with companies like Korean Cyworld leading the way, that virtual good sales became instituted as a legitimate revenue-making scheme.
Virtual goods may continue to be a primarily Asian phenomenon, as between 2007–2010 70% of worldwide sales were made in this region. and a year later reach 14 billion according to a different analyst.
In 2010 a virtual space station in the game Entropia Universe sold for $330,000.
In online games, virtual goods could be lost due to some unexpected reasons. This brings problems for service providers as well as purchaser. Encryption techniques primarily used for other purposes may, here too, provide functionality. These may include access control, hashing, encryption, digital certificates, and fingerprinting.
While many companies have embraced exchanging cash for virtual goods, the practice is forbidden in most blockbuster games, which derive income from subscription fees. This doesn't deter all players from saving playing time by illicitly buying in-game currency with real-world cash–violating their agreement with the game's operator in the process.