Creating a Currency and Shop System in Unity

Introduction

In almost every successful game, players expect to earn, spend, and manage currency. Whether it’s gold coins in an RPG, gems in a puzzle game, or upgrade tokens in a shooter — having a clean currency and shop system is essential.

In this Unity tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a fully functional in-game currency system and a basic shop UI with Buy and Cancel functionality using Unity UI and C# scripting. Perfect for both mobile and desktop games.

Step 1: Set Up the UI Elements

Before writing code, let’s lay out a simple UI:

• Coin Display (Text or TMP_Text) — e.g., “Coins: 100”
• Buy Button — Executes the purchase
• Cancel Button — Exits the transaction
• Item Display Panel — Represents the purchasable item (optional image/icon)

Tip: Group all UI elements inside a Canvas. Use a Vertical Layout Group to stack shop entries neatly.

Step 2: Currency Manager Script

This script will control the coin balance and allow other scripts to access it.

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class CurrencyManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    public static CurrencyManager Instance;

    public int currentCoins = 100;
    public Text coinText;

    void Awake()
    {
        if (Instance == null)
            Instance = this;
    }

    void Start()
    {
        UpdateCoinUI();
    }

    public bool SpendCoins(int amount)
    {
        if (currentCoins >= amount)
        {
            currentCoins -= amount;
            UpdateCoinUI();
            return true;
        }
        return false;
    }

    public void AddCoins(int amount)
    {
        currentCoins += amount;
        UpdateCoinUI();
    }

    void UpdateCoinUI()
    {
        coinText.text = "Coins: " + currentCoins.ToString();
    }
}

✅ Use a singleton pattern for easy global access throughout your game.

Step 3: Shop Item Script

This script goes on each item in your shop. It handles buying logic and interacts with the currency system.

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class ShopItem : MonoBehaviour
{
    public int cost = 50;
    public Button buyButton;
    public Button cancelButton;
    public GameObject itemToUnlock;

    void Start()
    {
        buyButton.onClick.AddListener(BuyItem);
        cancelButton.onClick.AddListener(CancelPurchase);
    }

    void BuyItem()
    {
        if (CurrencyManager.Instance.SpendCoins(cost))
        {
            Debug.Log("Item purchased!");
            itemToUnlock.SetActive(true);
        }
        else
        {
            Debug.Log("Not enough coins!");
        }
    }

    void CancelPurchase()
    {
        Debug.Log("Purchase cancelled.");
    }
}

️ You can easily expand this later to include sound, visual feedback, or confirmation popups.

Step 4: Testing Coin Earning

Want to simulate coin collection during testing? Add this simple input check:

void Update()
{
    if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.C))
    {
        CurrencyManager.Instance.AddCoins(10);
    }
}

Press the C key during Play mode to earn 10 coins each time.

✅ Pro Tips for a Better Shop System

1. Use ScriptableObjects for Item Data

Store item name, cost, icon, and effects in a ScriptableObject. This keeps things modular.

2. Save Currency with PlayerPrefs

PlayerPrefs.SetInt("Coins", currentCoins);

3. Use Sound & Visual Feedback

Play a sound or animate the button when a purchase succeeds or fails.

4. Add Item Descriptions

Display hover or tap info for what each item does.

❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Having duplicate buttons labeled “BUY” (use “CANCEL” clearly)
• Forgetting to update the coin text when values change
• Spawning unlocked items multiple times without checks
• Not disabling buttons after purchase

Bonus Ideas for Future Expansion

• Add a daily coin reward system
• Implement rewarded video ads to earn coins
• Create premium and free shops
• Add localization support for shop text

Final Thoughts

Unity’s UI system and C# scripting make it incredibly easy to create a robust and flexible in-game shop. Whether you’re offering skins, boosts, or unlockables, this simple structure can scale to meet almost any project need.

Build this once — and you’ll reuse it across multiple games!

Do your players love earning coins — or are they spending too fast? Build the system that keeps them coming back!