Players who have been using WoW Tokens to increase their game time will now be asked to subscribe to World of Warcraft using real money if they want to purchase more tokens later on.
'Free' Game Time No More?
Randy "Kaivax" Jordan, Community Manager for World of Warcraft, said in a recent forum post, that Blizzard is set to release an update on November 21. Part of this update is a restriction where players who haven't used real-world money to buy a "Time Limited License" since 2017, will be barred from purchasing WoW Tokens from the in-game Auction House. This will only be lifted if players will subscribe to the game for at least 30 days using real money.
Kaivax also added that the consumption of WoW Tokens is fine, though purchasing future tokens will not be possible until these players subscribe to the game for at least a month. This move was done as a means of preserving the game's integrity and "to provide a better token market to players."
For the uninitiated, WoW Tokens are Blizzard's way of combating RMT or "Real Money Trade." Players can purchase some WoW Tokens from the Blizzard Shop for $20, which they can then sell to others via the in-game Auction House for gold. Because of the tokens, those who are diligent enough to grind for gold can technically play World of Warcraft continuously just by using in-game currency.
Since it is now possible for players to enjoy the game without ever paying Blizzard any money, people with nefarious intent took advantage of the system by employing bots to farm for gold. Things have gotten so out of hand that the price of Wow Tokens has skyrocketed in recent months. The value of a single token even went up to 400,000 at one point!
This restriction is going to be implemented in an update that goes live on November 21. Once it's enabled, it is interesting to see if it will be enough to rectify the serious botting problem that's been plaguing the game for some time now.
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Mixed Reactions
The WoW community is seemingly divided on the topic. Redditor @doofer20 said that they've been using WoW Tokens to get game time since they came out in 2015. They believe that the restriction might negatively impact cheaters since bot networks will be forced to pay for a subscription to continue doing their shady business.
Another Redditor is not at all too happy about the announcement. They said that they have not paid money for the last couple of expansions. Redditor @Man_Bear_Beaver added that the WoW Tokens were the only reason why they played Warlords of Draenor - which is one of World of Warcraft's previous expansions, back in the day.
While they do not have a ton of gold themselves, Redditor @Durenas understands why Blizzard had to implement the change. However, this might upset those who have been playing the game for free via WoW Tokens.
What's your take on the matter? Are you ok with the upcoming purchase restriction or not?
World of Warcraft is available on PC.
Related Article: 'World Of Warcraft' Tokens On Trade; Blizzard Allows Players To Convert Gold Into Overwatch, Hearthstone & Other Blizzard Items
