AN international mobile commerce platform has discovered that Brits have wasted more than £180 million on unused in-game currency through abandoned mobile games.

Candy Crush Saga was revealed to be the game with the most unused currency in it, followed by Clash of Clans and Pokémon Go as two fifths of mobile gamers (39 per cent) say they have deleted games that still have paid-for in-game currency left in them.

One of the world’s leading mobile commerce platforms has surveyed 2,910 Brits who regularly play mobile games to discover how much in-game currency they have bought and left unused in games they no longer play.

Released in 2012, Candy Crush Saga was named the game with the most leftover currency, with an estimated value of £26.7 million residing unused in the game’s gold bars.

The platform which carried out the research, DOCOMO Digital, discovered the average mobile gamer spends £61 a year on in-game purchases, while a third (32 per cent) spend more than £500 a year.

The five mobile games with the most unused in-game currency are:

1. Candy Crush Saga – £26.7 million in Gold Bars

2. Clash of Clans – £25.3 million in Gems

3. Pokémon Go– £23.5 million in PokéCoins

4. Angry Birds (all versions) - £21 million in Gems

5. Candy Crush Soda Saga - £17.2 million in Gold Bars

Two-fifths (39 per cent) of players said they had knowingly deleted games with paid-for in-game currency left unused. This is despite the fact that half of gamers (49 per cent) have never paid to download a game.

In-game purchases can include character customisation, extra lives and reduce waiting times for upgrades and progression.

These items are often bought with each game’s unique and virtual in-game currency which is purchased in exchange for real-world currency and is often non-refundable.

Out of the 100 most popular free mobile games on the AppStore this August, three quarters of them have in-game purchases (76 per cent), while 64 out of the top 100 paid for games also feature in-game purchases.