Cosmetics as social currency: young people playing out identities through skins in free-to-play games

The roles of players and consumers of online games are increasingly merging due to a shift in the gaming industry towards lucrative free-to-play monetisation featuring in-game purchases such as skins. Skins are cosmetic virtual items that alter the visual appearance of game avatars, allowing players to purchase a virtual representation of themselves. Research on virtual items has primarily focused on the acquisition phase of adult players through quantitative methodologies. This article, however, provides empirical insights into the use and appropriation of skins through 41 play-along interviews with young players aged between 10 and 24 years. Drawing on social identity theory, this article seeks to present a conceptual understanding of the role of skins in young players’ lived gaming experiences. The findings suggest that skins are used to express individuality, attain social visibility, and navigate in-group and out-group dynamics. Young people use skins to signal competence, economic investment and time spent in the game, and actively decommodify them through alternative modes of acquisition such as gifting, trading and stealing. On a broader level, the findings imply that the social relevance of skins exceeds market transactions and underscore the significance of digital consumption in identity processes.