World of Warcraft may always have something to do in-game but the Chains of Domination patch which brings new content is still several months away. As a result, the current variety of max level activities is finally getting old for many players and causing them to take a break from the game. Blizzard's newest change, however, may complicate things for those who want to buy their subscription.
For many years, Blizzard has let players decide how they want to pay for the monthly subscription fee via an automatic payment method or redeeming a set amount of days. With the option to buy multiple months in bulk and discount, everyone could find their best deal depending on how long they expected to play World of Warcraft. Unfortunately, the latest adjustment in the Blizzard shop has stripped away agency from players used to buying game time on demand.
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In a post to the official World of Warcraft forums, community manager Bornakk announced the shop change after a recent review of services. The previously purchasable game time options of 30, 90, and 180 days are no longer available to players. Instead, a 60 day game time option costing $29.99 USD will replace all three as the only offer going forward.
While this doesn't affect anyone paying through an automatic subscription, the change drastically hits those who bought game time using their Blizzard Balance. With the WoW Token being introduced several years ago and how much easier it is to make gold nowadays, many savvy players could make enough to cover the cost of 30 days or buy additional months at a slightly cheaper price. After today's update, newcomers and those with less gold will need to farm twice the usual amount for their game time while purchasing additional months no longer come as a discount.
Though the announcement was confusing to many players, there are still two ways to purchase only 30 days at a time. The first choice is to sign up for a subscription with a 1-month billing cycle and immediately cancel it to prevent the next payment charge after one month. Alternatively, players can still purchase a WoW Token from the in-game Auction House and redeem it for game time instead of converting it to $15 USD of Blizzard Balance. Both methods aren't exactly straightforward but get the same results for those min-maxing their budget and desire to play World of Warcraft each month.
Ultimately, the decision comes at a time when Blizzard is already making headlines for CEO Bobby Kotick getting $200 million amidst employee layoffs. Even if this choice was made to increase monthly subscription data, it may drive more players away during the current content drought instead.
World of Warcraft is available on PC.
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Source: World of Warcraft Forums