History Main / MoneyIsExperiencePoints

Games can use money to grow their characters in various ways, such as raising their stats or teaching them new abilities. This is typically seen in [[RolePlayingGame role-playing games]] and [[ActionGame action games]] that allow you to upgrade your character. Some games may use a skill tree to allow players to pick and choose which attributes to level up and which skills to learn. Other games may let you purchase new abilities or permanently raise your stats at a shop. Another method for leveling up is by allowing players to convert their money into experience or vice versa.

* In the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' games, bolts are typically used to buy and upgrade weapons. You could also use bolts to refill health and ammo, but that was usually for a pitiful amount.

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', Power Eggs are usually used to upgrade your avatar's weapons in Story Mode. However, once you’ve upgraded all your weapons, you can exchange your eggs for meal tickets that can be used to earn more money or more EXP.

This usually happens for a variety of reasons. First of all, experience points are not unlimited. While it can take many hours for players to level up their characters, they will eventually max out all their stats and learn every ability there is to learn. This means the game's experience points will be left without any purpose, especially if the player can carry over their level in a NewGamePlus. Combining EXP with the game's currency will give it a more sustainable use, allowing the player to continue purchasing items, equipment, etc after they have completely maxed out their character. Also, by using money for character growth, this can add a huge MoneySink to the game by forcing the player to decide whether to invest their money in leveling up or purchasing goods. The game's currency need not be the only way to level up, but it can be a viable method for reducing hours of level grinding.

* In various ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' games and spinoffs, you can level up characters by spending money at a dojo in addition to fighting in battles. Some games would even let you raise their stats individually. However, you could not level your characters higher than the highest level party member. This would save a lot of time from having to play stages over and over to level-grind each character. Money could serve various other purposes such as buying items and temporary buffs, but leveling up characters was typically the game's biggest MoneySink.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Mora is used for almost everything from buying items at shops to leveling up weapons, artifacts and characters. In the case of the latter, levelling up characters and equipment requires mora, drops from enemies and bosses, and regional items along with exp items.

** Downplayed with the ''[[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20084 Gold Is XP]]'' mod for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. The mod changes the way levelling work by connecting XP progression to gold, but instead of requiring to buy new attributes from the actual ingame currency, it adds a XP bar which progresses every time you earn gold.

* ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'': Previous ''Disgaea'' entries required characters to be created with Mana; gained from defeating enemies (and the odd Potion now-and-again). In the fifth game however, HL takes center-stage as the primary means of character creation -- Money determines both the competency of a character (essentially their overall stat-growth and how many modifiers can be attached to said stats) and their initial starting level, which can be customized to varying degrees. Reincarnation however stills requires Mana like previous titles.
* ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'': Creating characters costs the game's currency Bordeaux, the amount of Bordeaux put in determining how many modifier-points can be assigned to a new Phantom's stats. Levelling up that Phantom increases the amount of points that be put into a duplicate of that class; the money cost rising accordingly. Deleting all recruited instances of a single class from your army will reset those creation caps to default as though you'd never created that Phantom type at all.

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* In many of the ''Franchise/NinjaGaiden'' games, yellow essence can be used to upgrade weapons as well as buying items.

Please note that this does not apply to games that use a "currency" exclusively for enhancing stats and learning new skills. It must serve another purpose outside of leveling up, such as buying items, otherwise they are just experience points. Also note that the trope doesn't count for buying consumable items that can later be used to permanently boost your stats or learn a new ability, like a RareCandy, the effect must be instantaneous upon purchase. If you have to go through any extra steps after buying a stat boost or ability to unlock it, then it's not this trope.

* Downplayed with the ''[[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20084 Gold Is XP]]'' mod for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''. The mod changes the way levelling work by connecting XP progression to gold, but instead of requiring to buy new attributes from the actual ingame currency, it adds a XP bar which progresses every time you earn gold.

* ''VideoGame/EternalSeniaHydrangeaAfterTheRain'': Crystals are used to raise Senia's CharacterLevel as well as her swords' levels, but not their forms. There are still tiers of swords, so even without Crystal investment, she can improve her combat ability through switching to a better sword.

* In the earliest editions of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' treasure counted towards ExperiencePoints.

* ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'': Previous ''Disgaea'' entries required characters to be created with Mana; gained from defeating enemies (and the odd Potion now-and-again). In the fifth game however, HL takes center-stage as the primary means of character creation - Money determines both the competency of a character (essentially their overall stat-growth and how many modifiers can be attached to said stats) and their initial starting level, which can be customized to varying degrees. Reincarnation however stills requires Mana like previous titles.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Mora is used for almost everything from buying items at shops to leveling up weapons, artifacts and characters. In the case of the latter, levelling up characters requires mora, drops from enemies and bosses, and regional items along with exp items.

* In many of Creator/FromSoftware's role-playing games, such as ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', and ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', the game's currency would double as the only method for leveling up the player's avatar. If the player were to die, they would drop all their money in the spot they died at, which would be lost permanently if the player was killed again before retrieving it. This made it beneficial to buy as many items as possible in between leveling up so that you would have less to lose in the event that you died trying to retrieve your lost money.

Not to be confused with BribingYourWayToVictory, although using real-world money may be an option for upgrading a character.