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Two interesting payment models to note where virtual worlds, both single- and multi-player, are concerned: First, SL resident Glitchy Gumshoe at the SL Future Salon flags a post by Raph Koster in which the legendary MMO developer talks about “company-sanctioned RMT” in the single-player game Oblivion. (Also from Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry Hryb’s blog.)

Basically, it seems you can swap points in Oblivion for downloadable armor for your mount. (And if this catches on, there’s certainly more to come.) Since Oblivion is a single-player game, this would seem to circumvent the usual objections over “real-money trade.” But as Raph points out, the Xbox Live ranking system essentially makes a massively multiplayer universe out of everyone’s single-player Xbox games by letting other players view your progress and accomplishments.

Wired News also has a story this morning about online games in Asia that charge no subscription fee but make money from micropayments for items with which to customize your avatar. And MMOs like Project Entropia and Roma Victor also do away with subscription fees in favor of a system whereby in-game currency can be freely purchased with real-world money. Second Life also makes its basic membership free.

Considering the revenue model of a company like Google, in which money is made not by charging directly for services provided but rather on the periphery of those services, these kinds of systems could become much more prevalent where the future of virtual worlds is concerned. In a way, subscription fees are nothing but a barrier to entry. It’s a good bet that VWs will increasingly go the way of the Web, where eyeballs, paying or not, equate to cash.