For many open-world games, it’s not uncommon to reward players generously throughout their journey, especially when they're given the freedom to go anywhere. A few hours in, players will literally drown in loot, gear, gold, treasures, gems, and very soon, in-game money loses its value. Add to that in-game merchants that rarely sell anything unique or of great value, serving only as endless moneybags to buy out every piece of junk that players might bring to them.
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Amid the open-world games with such a generous, non-stressful approach, some titles go in an entirely different direction, creating mechanics and in-game systems where money always matters. With harsh economics where earning money is hard and many ways to spend it, players are left with a constant choice: what’s the best way to invest while staying motivated to do every side job they can just to get by? Below are some examples of such open-world games where money is never enough, almost like in the real world.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Pursuit Of Money Is Reflected Throughout The Entire Story
Red Dead Redemption 2’s entire narrative revolves around getting more money. Dutch’s line “We need money!”, which he keeps repeatedly bringing up in dialogue, has become somewhat of a meme. Indeed, earning in RDR 2’s Wild West frontier is hard, which is reflected in the story of outlaws constantly hoping to hit it big and start a new, prosperous life. Even if players can personally make a small fortune over time, there are plenty of ways to spend that hard-earned cash in the West beyond donating to the gang and improving the camp to unlock new features and bonuses.
Buying and maintaining new horses, saddles, and an ever-growing arsenal of weapons is a costly process, but if players are looking to collect every outfit and cosmetic, they should be prepared to grind, hunt and fish, search for rare treasures, and loot every single defeated enemy. Just like in real life, everything costs something in Red Dead Redemption 2: from a hot bath and a barber to buying food, drink, ammo, or even a ticket to use a train or a carriage for fast travel. Players should also be careful not to get too high a bounty on their heads, as wanted levels don’t simply vanish, and fines to clear one’s reputation can reach an astronomical sum.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
Prepare To Stay Broke
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl fully belongs in the camp of open-world games where players constantly feel broke. Traveling to the Zone to make some money for a new apartment, Skif ends up in a whole new world of harsh economics, where even the rarest artifacts and rewards for elite assignments can’t cover the ever-growing costs for gear upgrades and their daily maintenance. On top of that, players have a very small inventory capacity, which prevents them from looting anything other than the most needed items.
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Using guns and armor in STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl constantly decreases their durability, and if players aren’t careful, the price for repairs could be truly mind-boggling. Stepping into an anomaly or being caught near a grenade blast while wearing high-quality armor might save their lives, but it will definitely cost them. Buying an elite weapon, attachment, mask, or night vision is possible only several hours into the game, and getting high-quality rounds from merchants is both rare and expensive. For dozens of hours, players will be struggling to get by, constantly facing harsh decisions about what to leave behind from a newly discovered stash, or whether traveling to the nearest base while overloaded is worth their time and effort.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Even The Viking Warchief Won’t Be Able To Upgrade Everything
In previous Assassin’s Creed games, players rarely experienced any struggle with money, as it was mostly used to buy cheap consumables and some rare gear upgrades. In AC Odyssey, money is more important, especially at higher levels, as improving gear is quite costly, not to mention the upgradable ship Adrestia. However, no game in the series beats Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, where players are almost guaranteed to feel the shortage of funds throughout their playthrough.
Despite being a Viking warchief and making alliances with local kings while conquering the continent, Eivor in Valhalla can’t afford the royal life. Everything earned will most likely be spent on improving the Ravensthorpe settlement, hosting feasts, and unlocking gear upgrades, not to mention that the rewards for quests and contracts are very small, not nearly covering the rising cost of upgrading weapons and armor to higher quality tiers or buying the best runes. In the Wrath of the Druids DLC, players can unlock passive time-based mechanics that allow them to obtain goods and sell them overseas, but even that doesn’t solve the money problem. As a result, it’s better to forget about fully upgrading every gear item in AC Valhalla, as players simply won’t be able to do so.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Elden Ring
Currency Used Both As Money And XP
In most FromSoftware games, there is no “money” in the traditional sense. Instead, Souls or, in Elden Ring’s case, Runes, serve as both currency and XP, making them flexible and precious at the same time. Every Rune obtained brings players closer to gaining a level and becoming stronger, so scenarios where runes could be useless are almost impossible in Elden Ring — well, at least until players reach the 100+ levels and find some great spots for easy farming.
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When it comes to merchants, teachers, and scholars, their goods are costly but often unique, so most Elden Ring players recommend buying out their entire stock upon discovering them — just in case. For this, consumable treasure items that grant various amounts of Runes, which can be used or sold, simplifying the trading process to some degree. Naturally, like in every Soulslike, all Runes carried by the player will be lost if they die, with just a single chance given to retrieve them before they're gone for good. No matter how careful players are, permanently losing tens of thousands of Runes is quite common in Elden Ring, so it’s better not to stress out about that too much.
Mad Max
Somehow, There’s Never Enough Scrap In The Wastelands
In Mad Max, the world as we know it has ended, and the Wastelands that replaced it are run on scrap — a primary currency essential for progression. Given its name, it could be assumed that getting scrap isn’t a big deal. After all, look around: there’s nothing but scrap metal left in this rusty post-apocalyptic environment, where everything has been destroyed and picked apart. Wrong. Somehow, there’s never enough scrap left in this world.
Scrap is used for every vital upgrade in the game, including Max’s gear, like armor, melee, and ranged weapons, as well as repairing and upgrading the Magnum Opus and other vehicles that players can collect and restore. Almost every upgrade is useful, granting new abilities for combat or survival, so players will most likely be interested in finding huge amounts of scrap on a regular basis. Easier said than done. Even by exploring, looting corpses, and clearing enemy camps, Mad Max players will always need more currency. For that, it’s important to keep an eye on trucks transporting scrap between settlements, then hijacking them to players’ own benefit.
ELEX
Finite Economy, Constant Needs, And Sparse Rewards
True to Piranha Bytes’ old-school RPG style, Elex’s in-game economy mirrors Gothic, where everything is hand-placed and finite, with no endless respawns, sparse rewards, or constant needs in this world. For most of the campaign, players will be extremely short on Elexit shards — local currency in Magalan, which can occasionally be mined from mineral veins, although players first need the proper equipment. That’s the entirety Elex for you: almost nothing here is available without extra effort.
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From early on, Elex isn’t afraid to create harsh, almost punishing conditions, where players are nobodies, everything costs a small fortune, and the best gear and skills are tightly gated. Exploration yields sparse rewards, upgrades and consumables drain funds quickly, and faction-locked vendors aren’t too keen on helping the player get stronger and better equipped. All that players are left with is scavenging and slowly building their reputation to join one of the in-game factions to make things easier, but there is definitely some charm in such a classic RPG progression system, where everything needs to be obtained through blood and sweat.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Realistic Medieval Economy With Plenty Of Daily Needs
In many ways, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is even more grounded and authentic than Red Dead Redemption 2, with a harsh, realistic medieval economy and plenty of daily needs to be met. Players won’t simply stumble on a chest full of gold during their exploration or discover a strong weapon in the bushes, and the standard enemies won’t have loads of money on them, either. Thievery is unreliable, too, and rarely worth it due to the potential punishment from the law. Therefore, outside of some major missions and quests with notable rewards, which are few, all that is left is to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Every day in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 brings plenty of natural needs. The protagonist, Henry, needs a hot meal, a drink, and a place to rest for the night, while his gear and horse require regular cleaning and maintenance. Simple side quests in the game bring so few grochens that it’s hard to rely solely on them. Buying anything major in the game is a major event, as the prices for most worthwhile items are steep, and merchants aren’t too urged to give fair deals when buying Henry’s stuff. As a result, players have to resort to side activities and jobs like smithing or alchemy to produce quality goods for sale, but even that doesn't guarantee a reliable income, as merchants have a finite amount of money to spend in a day.
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