AfterDawn: News

World of Warcraft to eventually go free-to-play?

World of Warcraft lead designer Tom Chilton has suggested this week that Blizzard may eventually move the extremely popular game to a free-to-play model.

Says Chilton: "At some point, it may not make sense for us to have a subscription fee."



That being said, the developer was quick to note that his suggestion was on a very long time frame, if it was to happen at all. "We’re not spending a lot of time thinking about it. It’s not something that’s a reality for us in the near future."

Other major MMO games such as The Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online have recently moved to a free-to-play model, choosing to make money off weapon and clothing upgrades for characters as well as other digital items.

When asked about their movies, Chilton responded: "I feel like they’re doing that to compete with other games that are on a similar subscriber level to what they were at. I imagine that when one of them went free to play it cannibalised some of the other subscribers. I can definitely imagine that being the case with World of Warcraft. If another game comes along and blows us away it may not make sense for us to have a subscription fee. Or even further down the line, when we have another MMO out."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 2 Jul 2010 14:19

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• 19 comments

• Mysttic

  If it were free to play I'd have an account; hell I'd buy the game as long as they get rid of subscriptions. Until then I am satisfied with my D&D account.

  2.7.2010 15:10 #1

• scorpNZ

  Sounds like players are moving to other games,still would be interesting to see what would happen in regards to revenue & whether there would be a loss or a gain,only thing i don't like about subs is it forces you to pay for a whole year,not exactly user pays since you pay even if your not online or game seldom online,i don't know why these wally's & others don't trial a prepay system & see how it goes it works for isp's tho support is limited etc since it is prepay & not subs however you now have a larger user base than you would've otherwise,they could even limit amount of hours your allowed to play each month or something,doesn't take a genius
  

  2.7.2010 15:24 #2

• Frogfart

  Never subscribed to this form of rip off and never will. My preference would lean towards buying a wonky iPhone before the recall and sell it later as an original wonky iPhone. People who subscribe to this type of game play don't have real lives or balls. WOW PEOPLE HAVE TOO MUCH $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

  2.7.2010 18:20 #3

• ntense69

  i wouldn't pay to play online on a pc game on a 360 or ps3 i see it

  3.7.2010 00:24 #4

• cart0181

  Originally posted by ntense69: i wouldn't pay to play online on a pc game on a 360 or ps3 i see it That's weird. I think the opposite, since PC games are on a superior platform. All else being equal, that is. Oh, and I don't play WOW.
  

  3.7.2010 00:43 #5

• ps3lvanub

  Originally posted by cart0181: Originally posted by ntense69: i wouldn't pay to play online on a pc game on a 360 or ps3 i see it That's weird. I think the opposite, since PC games are on a superior platform. All else being equal, that is. Oh, and I don't play WOW. I have to disagree and agree with you there. I agree because seen as PC's are upgradable the technology can perpetually increase and therfore so can the graphics and audio of the games but I disagree because in my eyes the new generation of games consoles always surpass PC's at least for a while until PC's catch them back up and surpass the consoles' tech once again. Plus on a console there is no issue with performance, compatability and lag issues and almost everyone can afford one.
  
  WoW is a total ripoff seen as if you work it out from the 60 day subscription cards it is more expensive than XBL payed in 1-year advances.

  3.7.2010 06:30 #6

• KillerBug

  All platforms have weaknesses; PCs have cheaters and consoles don't have mice (at least not while playing games).
  
  The price of WoW is much more severe than the service fee...WoW is a leading cause of diabetes among geeks. It ruins relationships too...not that the average WoW player can get a girlfriend to begin with.

  3.7.2010 10:07 #7

• ps3lvanub

  I totally agree. I once stumbled across a serious website for mothers and partners of people who have gotten into WoW. Bit off topic are are those mouse things for the 360 and PS3 any good?
  

  
  
  OMG! COD6 TENTH HACK WITHOUT JTAG!

  3.7.2010 10:32 #8

• Mysttic

  Come Nov. It'll be 6 years since its release; that's a long time to carry out any MMO, I would say you'd think they start thinking about canning it altogether if it wasn't for the fact the addicts feed their coffers. I know Blizzard is working on another MMO, bur it ain't likely to be released until 2015. Still even so, they have to move off subscription fees, it's not worth it. Not in a world where there are so many other games that can feed the addiction for free or way cheaper.
  
  Its too bad as a hardcore player I can't find a way to convince all the blind idiots *and yes they are idiots* to stop paying out to blizzard for an out dated game; *and yes, its very outdated and starting to be as bad as Starwars.* Yes I know I said I'd play if it were free, but that doesn't mean I'll be addicted. My D&D character hasn't even been logged into for months, but from time to time its fun for me to go in and do a bit of hack and slash and leave. My online play is done in spurts and I find the best online play is when it involves guns.

  3.7.2010 11:03 #9

• Hopium

  i play wow, i have xbox live, and i have a girlfriend. i contradict every comment on here, lol. maybe you guys should get a job its like 14 bucks a month for wow that doesn't even give me a quarter tank of gas. quit crying and get a job. and as far as playing wow the so outdated game, why dont you stop using a computer that was so 1980's.

  3.7.2010 13:01 #10

• Mysttic

  HAHAH you speak as if you know what my computer is; who the *uck are you to presume that taking a choice is whining. Why should I pay out hundreads of $ for a game I already played and know I wouldn't get into. If that's your thing, than fine; but that gives you no right to push your opinions onto others, so for that you need to get a life.
  
  For you info, my gaming PC is an AM3 Quad with 8GB of DDR3 memory with 2 XFX HD 5850s. So I pretty damn fucking sure, it can run WOW on max settings, especially since I can run Crysis like that. The only thing my PC is missing is Eye Infinity, which I intend to jimmy a way to do it with 3 "42 LEDs. I don't like 3D with glasses which is why I won't go that route. So as far as me not having a PC, I wouldn't be surprised if mine out benches yours, but even if it didn't; its not a matter about who has a better PC, its about wasting $ on a game that doesn't deserve the amount they charge.
  
  Go on playing WoW, and yes a game 6 years old is outdated, but you don't have to like it; you just keep on playing. I do commend you for having a job and a woman tho; that's great I've seen friends divorce over WoW and lose their job, glad to see not everyone is like that.

  3.7.2010 19:09 #11

• ntense69

  lol last blizzard game i played was diablo 2 lol and i bought it and thought id play it well i played it enough to know it sucked and havent played it in over 5 years or 6 heck who knows

  4.7.2010 12:42 #12

• ps3lvanub

  Originally posted by Mysttic: HAHAH you speak as if you know what my computer is; who the *uck are you to presume that taking a choice is whining. Why should I pay out hundreads of $ for a game I already played and know I wouldn't get into. If that's your thing, than fine; but that gives you no right to push your opinions onto others, so for that you need to get a life.
  
  For you info, my gaming PC is an AM3 Quad with 8GB of DDR3 memory with 2 XFX HD 5850s. So I pretty damn fucking sure, it can run WOW on max settings, especially since I can run Crysis like that. The only thing my PC is missing is Eye Infinity, which I intend to jimmy a way to do it with 3 "42 LEDs. I don't like 3D with glasses which is why I won't go that route. So as far as me not having a PC, I wouldn't be surprised if mine out benches yours, but even if it didn't; its not a matter about who has a better PC, its about wasting $ on a game that doesn't deserve the amount they charge.
  
  Go on playing WoW, and yes a game 6 years old is outdated, but you don't have to like it; you just keep on playing. I do commend you for having a job and a woman tho; that's great I've seen friends divorce over WoW and lose their job, glad to see not everyone is like that. Someone just got served. WoW isn't even entertaining. I'll just keep on playing my FIFA 10, Fallout 3 and Oblivion, thanks very much.

  5.7.2010 11:02 #13

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by ps3lvanub: I totally agree. I once stumbled across a serious website for mothers and partners of people who have gotten into WoW. Bit off topic are are those mouse things for the 360 and PS3 any good? There are a lot of the adapters; most don't work very well, even the best ones are rather limited as the games themselves are often written to have slower movements to compensate for the sticks. Still, a good adapter is better than using a DS3...I just have to find a good, RELIABLE adapter...so far, no luck on the reliable part.

  6.7.2010 04:02 #14

• JOHNSTARR

  Give me a break. So a company that has 11 million people paying 14$ a month or whatever it costs is gonna go free?
  
  
  This person definitely needs to get a life
  
  
  

  No time for Leap frog!!!

  6.7.2010 07:14 #15

• H0bbes

  I suppose it depends on opinion and preference. I play WoW. I don't have cable or satellite TV, but rather Netflix which I intermittently turn on and off. Between the two [Netflix and WoW] I pay far less combined than all the people I know with TV service. I do not have a console that I use often. The one we have is a Wii which my wife uses 90% of the time between the two of us. I also have three young curtain climbers to chase, a full time job and a part time job so I don't have a lot of time to play. When I do, it's a cheap outlet that's involving but not lame in my opinion, like Farmville [again, my opinion ;)]. I do find it entertaining unlike some here, especially since some of my real-life friends are on also. It's a cheap, entertaining outlet for someone that can't get out the house much except for his job.
  

  "It’s as if McGruff the Crime Dog snuck into our basement, enlisted an army of cellar rats to eat up all of our cheese, and then burned the house down when we finally locked him out – instead of just knocking on the front door to tell us the window was open." ~Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback

  6.7.2010 10:06 #16

• borhan9

  If this is the direction that they are going to go with this then they will lose more than just if the had the subscription fee. Leave it as it is and don't be soo greedy :P
  

  Edited by DVDBack23
  
  
  "the mediocre teacher tells. the good teacher explains. the superior teacher demonstrates. the great teacher inspires."- William Aruthur Ward

  6.7.2010 22:08 #17

• dEwMe

  Originally posted by KillerBug: The price of WoW is much more severe than the service fee...WoW is a leading cause of diabetes among geeks. It ruins relationships too...not that the average WoW player can get a girlfriend to begin with. DOH! I used to be hooked on WarCrack...I can hear my wife now..."Better in the game, worse in real life." Oh the years of my life lost grinding levels or standing around waiting on raids...and yes paying $15/month for the pleasure...What a waste!
  
  

  Just my $0.02,
  
  dEwMe
  

  8.7.2010 08:36 #18

• waynebaal

  Originally posted by Mysttic: HAHAH you speak as if you know what my computer is; who the *uck are you to presume that taking a choice is whining. Why should I pay out hundreads of $ for a game I already played and know I wouldn't get into. If that's your thing, than fine; but that gives you no right to push your opinions onto others, so for that you need to get a life.
  
  For you info, my gaming PC is an AM3 Quad with 8GB of DDR3 memory with 2 XFX HD 5850s. So I pretty damn fucking sure, it can run WOW on max settings, especially since I can run Crysis like that. The only thing my PC is missing is Eye Infinity, which I intend to jimmy a way to do it with 3 "42 LEDs. I don't like 3D with glasses which is why I won't go that route. So as far as me not having a PC, I wouldn't be surprised if mine out benches yours, but even if it didn't; its not a matter about who has a better PC, its about wasting $ on a game that doesn't deserve the amount they charge.
  
  Go on playing WoW, and yes a game 6 years old is outdated, but you don't have to like it; you just keep on playing. I do commend you for having a job and a woman tho; that's great I've seen friends divorce over WoW and lose their job, glad to see not everyone is like that. Seems to me that you are 'pushing' your opinion on others. And calling people idiots because they choose to pay to play is offensive. Each to their own....if you don't like it, don't do it. But don't criticise others for their choice.

  12.7.2010 07:03 #19