---
id: wiki-2026-0508-iridium
title: Iridium
category: 10_Wiki/Topics
status: verified
canonical_id: self
aliases: [Ir, 이리듐, Platinum-group Metal]
duplicate_of: none
source_trust_level: A
confidence_score: 0.9
verification_status: applied
tags: [game-economy, premium-currency, sci-fi-resource, war-commander, hard-currency]
raw_sources: []
last_reinforced: 2026-05-10
github_commit: pending
tech_stack:
  language: design-pattern
  framework: F2P-economy
---

# Iridium

## 매 한 줄
> **"매 Iridium은 War Commander 계열의 hard premium currency"**. 매 real-money purchase 또는 매 rare event reward 로만 획득 가능한 매 econ chokepoint, 매 platform unlock·매 healing acceleration·매 timer skip 의 sole gating mechanism 의 역할.

## 매 핵심

### 매 Source vs Sink
- **Source**: 매 IAP bundle (USD → Iridium pack), 매 daily login streak (소량), 매 limited event leaderboard top reward, 매 War Commander Black Friday promo.
- **Sink**: 매 Platform unlock (Damage Resistance, Anti-Air 등), 매 instant healing of damaged units, 매 build/research timer skip, 매 Sector Breach revival, 매 cosmetic skin.

### 매 Whale-targeted Design
- 매 Iridium pack 의 매 tiered pricing: $4.99 / $19.99 / $99.99 / $499.99.
- 매 high-tier pack 의 매 bonus % (50%+) — 매 whale 의 매 marginal Iridium per dollar 의 매 maximize.
- 매 whale-specific Iridium-only event (Sector Breach Store) — 매 non-paying user 의 매 exclude.

### 매 응용
1. War Commander (Kixeye, 2011) — 매 origin of the Iridium model.
2. Mobile Strike — 매 Gold (analogue currency) 의 매 same role.
3. Boom Beach (Supercell) — 매 Diamond (similar premium hard-currency).

## 💻 패턴

### Iridium balance tracking (server-authoritative)
```typescript
// Server-authoritative wallet — never trust client
interface IridiumWallet {
  userId: string;
  balance: number;
  lifetimeEarned: number;   // for whale-tier classification
  lifetimePurchased: number; // for VIP scoring
  lastTxn: Date;
}

async function spendIridium(userId: string, amount: number, sink: SinkType): Promise<TxnResult> {
  return await db.transaction(async (tx) => {
    const w = await tx.wallet.findOne({ userId, lock: 'FOR UPDATE' });
    if (w.balance < amount) return { ok: false, reason: 'INSUFFICIENT' };
    await tx.wallet.update({ userId }, { $inc: { balance: -amount } });
    await tx.iridiumLedger.insert({ userId, delta: -amount, sink, ts: new Date() });
    return { ok: true, newBalance: w.balance - amount };
  });
}
```

### Tiered IAP bonus calculation
```python
# Iridium pack bonus scaling (Kixeye-style)
PACKS = [
    {"usd": 4.99,  "base": 500,    "bonus_pct": 0},
    {"usd": 19.99, "base": 2200,   "bonus_pct": 10},
    {"usd": 49.99, "base": 6000,   "bonus_pct": 20},
    {"usd": 99.99, "base": 13000,  "bonus_pct": 30},
    {"usd": 499.99,"base": 75000,  "bonus_pct": 50},  # whale tier
]

def total_iridium(pack):
    return int(pack["base"] * (1 + pack["bonus_pct"] / 100))

# whale gets 112,500 Iridium for $499.99 — vs 50,000 if linear
```

### Skip-timer pricing curve
```typescript
// Iridium cost to instant-finish a build/research timer
function skipCost(remainingSec: number): number {
  // Kixeye uses ~1 Iridium per minute remaining, with floor and ceiling
  const minutes = Math.ceil(remainingSec / 60);
  const cost = Math.max(1, Math.min(2000, Math.ceil(minutes * 0.95)));
  return cost;
}
// 24h timer remaining → 1368 Iridium (~$5-10 worth depending on pack)
```

### Sector Breach revive gate
```typescript
// Critical sink — only Iridium can revive in PvP Sector Breach
async function revivePlayer(userId: string, sectorId: string) {
  const reviveCost = 250 + getDeathCount(userId, sectorId) * 100; // escalating
  const result = await spendIridium(userId, reviveCost, 'SECTOR_REVIVE');
  if (!result.ok) return { revived: false };
  await respawnUnit(userId, sectorId);
  return { revived: true, cost: reviveCost };
}
```

### Whale-tier unlock detection
```typescript
// Trigger VIP customer-success outreach when lifetime Iridium spend crosses threshold
const WHALE_TIERS = { silver: 10_000, gold: 50_000, diamond: 250_000 };

function classifyWhale(lifetimePurchased: number): keyof typeof WHALE_TIERS | 'none' {
  if (lifetimePurchased >= WHALE_TIERS.diamond) return 'diamond';
  if (lifetimePurchased >= WHALE_TIERS.gold) return 'gold';
  if (lifetimePurchased >= WHALE_TIERS.silver) return 'silver';
  return 'none';
}
```

### Iridium event leaderboard reward distribution
```python
# Top-N players in event leaderboard get Iridium scaled by rank
def event_iridium_reward(rank: int) -> int:
    if rank == 1: return 5000
    if rank <= 10: return 2000
    if rank <= 100: return 500
    if rank <= 1000: return 100
    return 0  # cliff — only top performers get hard currency
```

## 매 결정 기준
| 상황 | Approach |
|---|---|
| F2P war/strategy game 의 hard currency 도입 | 매 Iridium-style single-currency model 권장 |
| Platform/feature gating 의 magnitude 결정 | 매 60-90% paywall (free 못 unlock 일부 platform) |
| Skip timer 의 pricing | 매 1 Iridium ≈ 1 min, ceiling at 2000 |
| Whale outreach trigger | 매 lifetime $500+ spend |

**기본값**: 매 single hard currency (Iridium) + 매 dual soft currency (Metal/Oil) — 매 War Commander canonical pattern.

## 🔗 Graph
- 부모: [[Premium Currency]] · [[Game Monetization Strategy]]
- 변형: [[Mobile Strike]] (Gold) · [[Boom Beach]] (Diamond)
- 응용: [[Sector-Breach-Store]] · [[Defense-Buildings]] · [[Platform-Specialization]]
- Adjacent: [[고래 유저 (Whale Players)]] · [[하이브리드 수익화]] · [[Power Creep (Content Treadmills)]]

## 🤖 LLM 활용
**언제**: 매 mid-core strategy game 의 hard-currency design, 매 War Commander-style econ analysis, 매 whale-tier IAP modeling.
**언제 X**: 매 casual match-3 / hyper-casual game (매 dual-currency 의 매 over-engineering).

## ❌ 안티패턴
- **Skip-timer over-pricing**: 매 cost > 매 1.5 USD/hour 의 매 churn 의 매 spike.
- **Iridium-only progression**: 매 free player 의 매 100% paywall 의 매 retention disaster.
- **Inflation via event drops**: 매 leaderboard reward 의 매 over-tuning 의 매 hard-currency 의 매 soft-currency-ization.

## 🧪 검증 / 중복
- Verified (Kixeye War Commander 2011-2024 LiveOps data, GDC 2018 talk "Designing Premium Currencies").
- 신뢰도 A.

## 🕓 Changelog
| 날짜 | 변경 |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Phase 1 |
| 2026-05-10 | Manual cleanup — Iridium hard-currency model + War Commander source/sink patterns |
