The first time, real-world trading took place informally. "You might purchase gold from your friend at school," Jacob Reed, a popular creator of YouTube videos about OSRS gold who goes by Crumb, wrote through an email that I received. In the following years, demand for gold was higher than supply and some players were full-time gold farmers or players who create on-game currency and sell it for actual money.

Internet-age miners have always been a part of by massively multiplayer online gaming or MMOs like Ultima Online or World of Warcraft. They also worked in various text-based virtual universes, said Julian Dibbell, now a technology transactions lawyer who once wrote about virtual economies as a journalist.

In the past, a lot of these gold-miners were located in China. Some hunkered down in makeshift factories, where they slayed virtual ogres and looted their bodies during 12-hour shifts. There were news reports about the Chinese government employing prisoners as gold farmers.

In Runescape, Jagex are bringing one of the most sought-after in-game items for a limited duration. A new event will run from now until January 3, 2022 players can acquire an updated version of the classic "Partyhat", an item which was first made available in a Christmas-themed event back in 2001.

One of the biggest economic downturns in the last 45 years, and without war, some in Venezuela are turning to a video game as a way to survive and potential migration. Playing video games doesn't imply being in front of a computer screen. It can mean movement. Hunting herbiboars in RuneScape can provide the money for today's meals and even the future of tomorrow's food with Colombia or Chile buy RS gold, countries where Marinez is a member of the family.