How a balance goes negative
- You start a run with some credits remaining (a minimum of 15 credits is required to start).
- The engine works within a budget derived from your remaining balance, and winds the session down gracefully as it approaches that budget.
- If the final metered cost still lands past your remaining balance, the difference is recorded as a negative balance. You were charged only for work actually done — the negative number is that work, not a fee.
What a negative balance blocks
- New generations are blocked — prompts, builds, edits, and remix builds — until the balance is back above zero. The studio shows a “top up to start your next run” notice.
- Everything else keeps working: your games stay playable and published, you can browse your projects, view code, manage settings, and play other people’s games.
How to recover
Top up or wait for credits to arrive — either clears the debt first, then the remainder becomes your available balance:- Buy a top-up on Plans & credits — applied against the negative balance immediately.
- Monthly reset — on paid plans, your next monthly grant clears the debt when it lands.
A negative balance is not wiped by cancelling or downgrading your subscription — it
represents AI work already performed. It carries over until credits cover it.
Avoiding it
- Keep an eye on the credit counter in the sidebar before launching big builds.
- Break huge requests into smaller prompts — smaller runs land closer to their expected cost and give you natural checkpoints.
- If you run a heavy workflow, a larger top-up bundle gives more headroom at a better per-credit rate.