Sometimes, a developer or publisher makes an announcement related to their game, and things click. You hear about the new feature and wonder how the game functioned without it. World of Warcraft has had one of those moments with the announcement of WoW Tokens. Now that we know these are going to be a thing, we’re left wondering why they’re only just being introduced now.
Here’s how the WoW Tokens work, in case you missed the huge announcements. World of Warcraft is one of the few MMORPGs that manages to continually pull in subscribers willing to pay real cash to play the game. To be exact, $12.99-14.99, depending on the number of months a person is willing to commit to the game in advance. The WoW Token, once implemented, will allow people to buy game time with in-game gold. People will be able to purchase WoW Tokens from a cash shop, put them up on a market, and others can buy them with in-game gold.
See why this is so amazing?
For people who have been playing World of Warcraft for a long time, this could mean getting to continue playing for free. All they have to do is head to the Auction House. There’ll be a current gold buyout price, so bidding isn’t a problem. Other MMOs like Guild Wars 2 have been using this kind of bid-free system for a while, and it takes away the ability for a few rich players to control the market. The Auction House keeps track of the going rate for game time, and you’ll immediately get a WoW Token for that price without worrying about waiting.
It’s almost like Blizzard will be rewarding people for playing their game. You spent years building a stockpile and paying your dues? Congratulations! Use the money you’ve earned to keep playing. Maybe, if you work hard enough, you’ll never have to pay real money to play again!
The WoW Token is also great for the people willing to spend the as-yet-undetermined price for them. There are a lot of people out there who have other obligations. As much as they might love World of Warcraft , they also probably don’t have the time to dedicate to the game and allow for greatness. By giving these people WoW Tokens to sell, Blizzard is providing a legitimate way to get gold in a risk-free manner – especially since someone will definitely get the gold amount quoted when they initiate the sale.
With WoW Tokens, a system with no downside is being introduced. Nobody gets hurt. The people who want to pay real money for gold, for whatever reason, will be able to get a supply in a secure manner. Those who want to keep playing, but perhaps won’t or can’t keep paying, now have a roundabout means of playing for “free.” Finally, people who want to stay completely out of this system can, and won’t be penalized for doing so. Not to mention that Blizzard enjoys fan goodwill and gets more cash. Everybody wins!