In battle royale-type games like Apex Legends, for instance, developers sell season or battle passes for real or virtual currency. There are also certain game styles that lend themselves to unique in-game product sales. Players can purchase loot boxes directly using fiat currency in certain games, while others require players to first purchase a key or to use in-game virtual currencies. In an increasing number of games, players can obtain in-game items indirectly by purchasing digital crates or “loot boxes,” which are essentially digital mystery boxes containing items of varying rarity. Depending on the game, in-game items and virtual currencies may also be obtained as a reward for in-game conduct. Others require the purchase of virtual currencies, like V-Bucks in Fortnite, which players use to obtain items. Some games allow players to purchase items directly via in-game stores using fiat currency. There are a variety of ways that microtransactions are structured in games. That figure is expected to grow by 60 percent to $50 billion by 2022. It is estimated that the total player spend on in-game items reached $30 billion in 2018. However, that does not make these in-game items any less attractive for gamers or less profitable for developers. While some in-game items offered for sale are functional and can offer a competitive edge to a player, most of these items, such as rare characters or weapon skins, are purely cosmetic and do not affect gameplay. Many of today's video games, including popular online games like Fortnite, allow players to make in-game purchases of virtual goods, known as “microtransactions.” Microtransactions provide a revenue source for game developers and are common in “free-to-play” games. This article specifically discusses whether and to what extent the participants in the e-gaming industry-including video game developers and publishers, online media platforms, and the gamers themselves-may be subject to state sales and use taxation under these new remote nexus sales and use tax laws. This article examines the impact of new state laws that have emerged since the Supreme Court's decision in Wayfair, which would permit the collection of sales and use tax on remote transactions.

Steam sales tax