Blizzard teases gold-for-game-time in World of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment is considering allowing players to buy game time tokens with real money to sell to other players for gold, the in-game currency in World of Warcraft.
“We’re exploring the possibility of giving players a way to buy tradable game-time tokens for the purpose of exchanging them in-game with other players for gold,” Blizzard community manager “Bashiok” wrote in a 2015 teaser post. “Our current thought on this is that it would give players a way to use their surplus gold to cover some of their subscription cost, while giving players who might have less play time an option for acquiring gold from other players through a legit and secure system.”
This would allow players to effectively play the game for free, while giving other players an easy way to earn gold. Bashiok notes that other games use a system like this already, and players have been requesting the feature for some time.
Other features teased for next year include tweeting from in-game, garrison improvements, an improved spectator UI for eSports tournaments, and more.
Borrowed ideas
Blizzard is no stranger to taking what works for other MMO games and importing it into World of Warcraft. In fact, it is one reason the the 10-year-old game still draws in over 10 million subscribers.
One MMO that uses a game time trade system is Icelandic developer CCP’s Eve Online, a space sim and trading game that focuses on player-driven content. Eve Online allows players to buy a game item called a Pilot License Extension (PLEX) with real money. PLEX can then be sold on the game marketplace for in-game currency.
CCP’s reason for selling PLEX echoes Bashiok’s statements. Players who have more time to play Eve Online and can amass an in-game fortune can play the game for free. Meanwhile, players who do not have as much time to play can indirectly buy game currency, allowing them to get into new ships faster and explore content without a huge time commitment.
Because game items can be destroyed or stolen in space battles, there have been examples of several thousand dollars worth of PLEX being lost, putting a very real price tag on failure for Eve players. Fortunately, World of Warcraft has no such system.
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