engineering-stripe-game-payments

Stripe Game Payments

Purpose

In-app purchases, subscriptions, consumables, webhooks, idempotency, and fraud prevention for games using Stripe.

When to Use

Trigger: payments, Stripe, IAP, in-app purchase, subscription, premium, battle pass, virtual currency, webhook, checkout, monetization

Prerequisites

postgres-game-schema (player accounts, inventory, currency tables)
betterauth-integration (authenticated player sessions)

Core Principles

Sid Meier: "A game is a series of interesting decisions." Monetization should enable interesting decisions, not replace them.

Payments are server-side only — never trust the client with price, quantity, or entitlement logic
Idempotency keys on every mutation — prevent double-charges on retries or network failures
Webhook-first fulfillment — deliver purchases via webhook events, not checkout completion callbacks
Two-phase fulfillment — record the purchase first, then queue reward delivery separately
Support both one-time and recurring — consumables (currency packs, items) and subscriptions (battle pass, premium membership)
Currency abstraction — players buy premium currency, then spend it on items; never sell game items directly for real money
Refund handling — revoke rewards on chargebacks and refunds automatically
Fraud signals — velocity checks, suspicious purchase patterns, geographic anomalies

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Install Dependencies

bun add stripe

2. Configure Stripe Client

Use boilerplate/stripe-setup.ts to initialize the Stripe SDK, sync your product catalog, and link Stripe customers to player accounts.

3. Define Product Catalog

Start with templates/product-catalog.ts to define your product types (consumable, subscription, currency bundle, cosmetic) and map them to Stripe price IDs and game rewards.

4. Create Checkout Sessions

Use boilerplate/checkout.ts to create Stripe Checkout sessions for one-time purchases, subscriptions, and premium currency bundles. Always attach player metadata.

5. Handle Webhooks

Implement boilerplate/webhooks.ts for signature verification, idempotent event processing, and two-phase fulfillment. Route events to typed handlers defined in templates/webhook-events.ts.

6. Queue Reward Delivery

After recording a purchase, dispatch a fulfillment job via BullMQ (see bullmq-game-queues). The worker grants the items, currency, or subscription entitlement.

7. Handle Refunds & Chargebacks

Listen for charge.refunded and charge.dispute.* events. Revoke granted rewards, deduct premium currency, and flag the player account for review.

8. Monitor & Audit

Log every payment event with an audit trail. Track fulfillment status (pending, fulfilled, revoked) and alert on anomalies.

Code Examples

Creating a checkout for a currency bundle

import { createCurrencyBundleCheckout } from './checkout';

const session = await createCurrencyBundleCheckout({
  playerId: 'player_123',
  priceId: 'price_premium_1000',
  quantity: 1,
  successUrl: 'https://game.example.com/store/success',
  cancelUrl: 'https://game.example.com/store',
});

Creating a subscription checkout

import { createSubscriptionCheckout } from './checkout';

const session = await createSubscriptionCheckout({
  playerId: 'player_123',
  priceId: 'price_battle_pass_monthly',
  successUrl: 'https://game.example.com/pass/success',
  cancelUrl: 'https://game.example.com/pass',
});

Processing a webhook event

import { handleStripeWebhook } from './webhooks';

app.post('/webhooks/stripe', async ({ request }) => {
  const sig = request.headers.get('stripe-signature')!;
  const body = await request.text();
  await handleStripeWebhook(body, sig);
  return new Response('ok', { status: 200 });
});

See boilerplate/stripe-setup.ts for client configuration, boilerplate/checkout.ts for session creation, boilerplate/webhooks.ts for event handling, and templates/product-catalog.ts for product definitions.

Cross-References

betterauth-integration for authenticated player sessions and Stripe customer linking
postgres-game-schema for purchase records, inventory, and currency tables
bullmq-game-queues for async fulfillment job dispatch and processing
game-economy-design for pricing strategy and currency balance design

Pitfalls & Anti-Patterns

Don't fulfill purchases on checkout completion — always use webhooks; checkout success redirects can be faked or missed
Don't skip idempotency keys — network retries and webhook replays will cause double-charges or double-grants without them
Don't store Stripe API keys in client code — all payment logic must be server-side only
Don't sell game items directly for real money — use a premium currency layer so you can adjust prices without changing Stripe products
Don't ignore chargebacks — unhandled disputes lead to account bans by Stripe; always revoke rewards and flag accounts
Don't couple payment processing with reward delivery — use two-phase fulfillment so a failed reward grant doesn't block payment recording
Don't skip webhook signature verification — unsigned webhooks can be spoofed to grant free items
Don't allow unlimited purchase velocity — rate-limit purchases per player to detect fraud and prevent accidental overspending

Designer Philosophy

Sid Meier: Monetization should enable interesting decisions, not replace them. A well-designed payment system gives players meaningful choices about how they engage with content. Premium currency buys time, not power. A battle pass rewards engagement, not spending. Fair monetization respects player skill and time investment — the best purchases enhance the experience without gating core gameplay.

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