What is "gold farming"

n. (context online games English) The business of farming/grinding for in-game currency (gold piece in many games) and items in massively multiplayer online games for for-profit resale outside of the game. vb. (present participle of gold farm English)

In the 1990s and 2000s, gold farming was the practice of playing a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) to acquire in-game currency later selling it for real-world money. People in several developing nations have held full-time employment as gold farmers.For Chinese gold farmers, see

• For non-Chinese gold farmers, see Gamers load for virtual asset swap vietnamnet.vn, 12:30' 10/07/2006 (GMT+7)

While most game operators expressly ban the practice of selling in-game currency for real-world cash, gold farming was lucrative because it took advantage of economic inequality and the fact that much time is needed to earn in-game currency. Rich players from developed countries, wishing to save many hours of playing time, were willing to pay substantial sums to gold farmers from developing countries.

By 2015, the term was being used to describe the wait times and chore-like activities required to enjoy some freemium mobile phone games without paying fees.