How Much Mass Effect Credits Are Worth In Real Money

BioWare’s sci-fi RPG series Mass Effect uses a fictional currency called credits in place of real money, which players can collect throughout the game and use to purchase weapons, armor, and other items. By comparing the price of some of Mass Effect‘s real-world items to how much they cost in-game, it’s possible to attempt to figure out how the game’s credits might correspond to actual currency.

In the timeline of the Mass Effect universe, credits were established as the standard galactic trade currency by the Citadel’s Unified Banking Act, drafted by the volus species. The Unified Banking Act helped tie the value and exchange rate of credits to the individual currencies of all other species in the galaxy, including humans, when they finally joined the other Citadel races in the series. Electronic credit transfers seem to be the standard across the franchise – credits are most often acquired through hacking datapads – but physical currency still exists as well.

The majority of purchases that can be made across the Mass Effect series are composed of combat upgrades in the form of weapons, weapon mods, or armor sets and pieces. However, there are a few items available for purchase that don’t have quite as much gameplay use. For example, Shepard can collect fish to keep in their cabin aboard the Normandy, and things like books or bottles of wine can also be bought at various points. Thanks to Mass Effect‘s inclusion of common real-world items such as this, it became possible to calculate the value of the series’ credit in relation to genuine currency.

Mass Effect’s Model Ships Helped Determine The Credit’s Value

One fan-favorite gameplay element in both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 is the ability to collect model ships to display in Shepard’s cabin. These can be found at shops across the galaxy, as well as stumbled upon naturally in different areas of the Normandy or other locations within the game. Another unexpected benefit of this mechanic, however, is that it allowed for comparisons to be made between Shepard’s model ship collection and the real-world hobby – in particular, the price tag of similar models outside of the game. By using these ships as an exchange rate, an approximate relative credit value was determined.

In the Mass Effect series, a model ships costs 500 credits to purchase. According to NetCredit, which calculated the theoretical value of the credit alongside other iconic forms of currency from various video game franchises, this would make the value of 1 credit equal to $0.1598 – so about 16 cents. By stacking that up against the maximum amount of credits players are able to collect through the course of the series, it means that Shepard’s total net worth is around $6,391,999. Fans can rest easy knowing that after they finish saving the galaxy, Shepard ought to be able to afford a nice house on Mass Effect’s Citadel.

Source: NetCredit

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Ky Shinkle
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Ky Shinkle is a Senior Gaming Features Writer for Screen Rant as well as an overall avid gamer and writer. Her prior experience is primarily that of a narrative designer for video games, although her writing has covered all formats from screenplays and novels to stage scripts. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, when she isn’t writing she works on digital media projects and other types of fiction writing. Ky currently works out of Ohio and enjoys spending her free time either playing RPGs or running with her dog.

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