Blizzard is desperately trying to plug the hole in the World of Warcraft subscriber base. The MMO is consistently losing subscribers, with Warlords of Draenor possibly bringing a few people back at the end of the year. New, interesting looking content can do that, but increased subscription prices is probably the exact opposite of what on-the-fence players want.
Except, that’s exactly what’s happening in the UK. It’s not a widespread increase, but later this year WoW players in the UK will be expected to pay more per month to keep playing. Activision explains that they’re constantly looking at local and regional market conditions and think that the pound sterling subscription needs a little adjustment.
From November 13, a month’s WoW subscription will increase by an entire pound, raising from £8.99 to £9.99. A three month subscription is up to £28.17 from £25.17, while a full 6-month subscription will now set you back six pounds more at £52.14. They’re not massive increases, but those little extra pounds do add up over time.
The good news is that players with auto-renew subscriptions will retain the old prices for the next two years, with the offer standing all the way up until November 13. Some players have also received emails offering them a free copy of Mists of Pandaria should they upgrade to an auto-renew plan. Seems like Blizzard is interested in getting players to invest in the short-term future of WoW over monthly payments, a decision which isn’t really sitting well with those affected.
Right now it seems like the UK is the only region that’s going to be forced to fork out more, but as subscription numbers continue to drop it wouldn’t be surprising to see some change in other regions as well. Blizzard has to make up for lost profits somehow, and it seems like they can’t wait for Warlords of Draenor.
Last Updated: August 18, 2014
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
August 18, 2014 at 09:37
Oh Blizzy, you’re supposed to LOWER subscriptions not INCREASE them when loosing subscribers.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 09:46
Obvious really.
MakeItLegal
August 18, 2014 at 12:31
Lunch bar
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 10:15
That makes no sense Banana. Obviously all you do is raise the price. It’s not like there are other options for people to simply change to. It is the only MMO out there after all.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
August 18, 2014 at 11:13
In World of Warcraft we trust! 😀 TO AZEROTH!
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 18, 2014 at 09:38
But does WOW have a gym so you can klap off those extra pounds?
bluegoon
August 18, 2014 at 09:42
Bought a stationary cycle to do just that :p need to retrofit it to mount a notebook on it.
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 18, 2014 at 09:52
…there’s actually Youtube videos for how to do it. Honestly didn’t expect that.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 09:46
I sent that song to all my friends. I know have zero friends
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 18, 2014 at 09:52
That was… bad.
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 18, 2014 at 09:40
Actually it does make business sense, people who only start subscribing again when a new expansion comes out & then stop a few months later will be paying a bit more per month than those who don’t let their subscriptions lapse.
Jai Guru
October 7, 2014 at 16:35
No they wont. Those players aren’t that dedicated. They simply will take their money elsewhere.
Pieter Kruger
August 18, 2014 at 09:43
Don’t think WOW has any “on-the-fence players” anymore. By now you’ve either played/are playing it or you’ll never will. With them losing millions of players its a given that only the hardcore fans will remain and this is the last ditch attempt to make some money from the only players who will still be willing to pay it.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 09:46
I think this is the last gasp before the plunge. They either make more money or they kill switch the servers in a years time if they can’t stop more people leaving.
Lydon McG
August 18, 2014 at 09:54
Well I’m on the fence, lol.
Ross Woofels Mason
August 18, 2014 at 11:17
Actually I just started playing it two weeks ago.
There are a lot more people who are on the fence with it than people think, especially with the Draenor announcement the amount of people who jumping in with the free till lv20 has increased a fair amount. At least in the realm I am in anyway.
While agree up subscriptions wont help them win anyone over, I hardly call it a major issue when they are still competitive with other mmo subscriptions.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 09:44
I still say subscription should be based on hours played, what’s the use you subscribe for a month but you can only play two hours a day?
Mossel
August 18, 2014 at 09:57
Totally agree with this! I can never justify paying a subscription if I know I am only playing an hour a day.
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 10:13
Sounds good. Now only if they could reverse that for normal titles too then Ubisoft and EA owe me a couple hundred.
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 10:17
Bethesda would make me dirt poor if they applied this to Skyrim. TESO on the other hand…they’d have to pay me to play that.
Wyzak
August 18, 2014 at 11:14
It’s highly unlikely I’ll play an MMO again for more than a month that doesn’t offer this. I’ll just wait for the inevitable collapse and the change to F2P.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 11:35
That’s why I love Planetside 2. Even though it’s F2P and the latency kills the game a third of the time, all the content is available through grinding except for armor and camouflage
Ross Woofels Mason
August 18, 2014 at 11:22
I agree with this completely, if you are buying “30 days” you should be getting 720 hours worth of time. But yea I don’t see anyone going that route sadly =p
MakeItLegal
August 18, 2014 at 12:38
Again another sharp comment , guys are on point …
MakeItLegal
August 18, 2014 at 12:33
This comment ! This ! You my friend may have an Amstel light
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 12:44
During office hours! I’m sending you my CV.
Verrayne
August 18, 2014 at 13:25
Blizzard does allow that but only in China.
It makes sense out of a gamers perspective but from a business perspective not. I pay $15 a month for WoW that gives me at least 60 hours of gameplay a month. So If I were to calculate my time/money spent on games I would only buy a $60 game if I got 240 Hours out of it…. I don’t see it working.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 13:28
But why only China?
Verrayne
August 18, 2014 at 14:51
Most players of WoW in China play at internet cafe’s and don’t have a pc at home.
MrChinwag
August 18, 2014 at 17:09
Then U find another game.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 17:28
I hav other game thx
Jai Guru
October 7, 2014 at 16:36
Nope. Flat rate, $10 or under. This isn’t 1995. Hourly based plans are unacceptable.
Kensei Seraph
August 18, 2014 at 09:54
Another reason not to play WoW.
WarframedSquirrel
August 18, 2014 at 09:57
Bwahahaha! That’s seriously gonna kill WoW… especially if they roll it out to other regions. People are already complaining about the sub costs.
Ryanza
August 18, 2014 at 09:58
The less you play the more you pay.
Less people are playing the game but if you increase the price it will still look like more people are playing. Because gamers are not people, they are a $ symbol.
Sk3tz0
August 18, 2014 at 09:59
Dont see anything wrong, only place it might affect is those that Play on Euro server like us Locals. Face fact, a single pound increse should not be that much of a difference to some1 who lives and earns pounds. If i’m not mistaken its still Cheaper than the Buggy ESO. I still play wow I been playing it since TBC Expac. Sure i’ve taken breaks inbetween,
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 10:24
ESO is not buggy, I dont know where you people get this crap info from. I am a veteran ESO player and there are fuck all bugs compared to Skyrim for example.
Sk3tz0
August 18, 2014 at 10:28
My Apologies. Guess I shouldnt believe everything I read on the internet..
http://tinyurl.com/n3l94zs
http://tinyurl.com/lur3kr2
Silly me..
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 10:33
Yes you shouldnt, I played over 200 hours on Skyrim on xbox with many bugs, but was still very enjoyable. I have spent a lot more hours on ESO, done hundreds of quests, and only had 1! minor quest bug which was later fixed in a patch a couple of days later. A couple of FPS issues in PVP, which they are also quick to fix. Its a really amazing game, I dont know why mostly SA reviewers are giving it such a bad name. Reviews are a lot more favorable in the US.
Anyway thats my rant for the day.
looking forward to Dragon Age, No Mans Sky, Fallout(Hurry up!)
Sk3tz0
August 18, 2014 at 10:36
Is it me or is Bugs on Skyrim completely different compared to Bugs on a MMO where other players take advantage and make ur gameplay experience shit for 15$ a month?
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 10:39
To be honest the bugs on Skyrim are way worse. Having a follower follow you all the fucking time that you cant get rid of, because of a bug. Couldnt join the Thieves guild altogether because quest got bugged.
A couple of exploiters in PVP in ESO is a minor issue. They get reported anyway.
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 10:45
I’m the lucky one who didn’t have (still don’t) bugs on Skyrim. (On pc, of course). And I’m running 40 mods.
But TESO is truly a terrible Elder Scrolls. I played quite a bit of it and I felt like those are hours that I’ll never get back again.
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 10:54
Fair enough, at least you played it and formed your own opinion. Im curious as to why you didnt like it?, Was it the gameplay, bug issues, graphics. thanks.
PS I still love Skyrim and even with the bugs would give it 10/10.
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 10:58
I’m a big Elder Scrolls fan, since the old ones. TESO is a good MMO, but it’s a bad Elder Scrolls imo. It doesn’t feel like an Elder Scrolls game anymore, it feels like an MMO with an Elder Scrolls badge. If it wasn’t called TESO, I probably would’ve liked it more.
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 11:03
Ok, that actually does make sense. I only started from Oblivion (which I didnt really enjoy). Skyrim is really game of the generation.
I hope they they do a Elder Scrolls VI !!!.
I think they will, They havent unlocked any of Elyswhere or Black Marsh yet, even the main island of Somerser Isles. All of these would be great for a new single player Elder Scrolls.
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 11:04
Any Tamriel isnt the only continent on Nirn!
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 11:05
http://www.cartographersguild.com/attachments/finished-maps/65255d1403876138-nirn-world-map-elder-scrolls-nirn_winkelii.jpg
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 11:06
Ah, that’s excellent.
I’m probably going to stare at this for very long.
Travis
August 18, 2014 at 11:14
The planet has a notably large continent, Tamriel, which is where all of the Elder Scrolls activity take place, with another similarly large continent to the east named Akavir. The land masses are separated by the Padomaic Ocean, a massive saline body of water.
The cold, barren land called Atmora is to the north of Tamriel, which is where the Nords of Tamriel hailed from. To the west of Tamriel lies Yokuda, which was the former homeland of the Redguards of Tamriel. To the south-west of Tamriel lies Pyandonea. It is unknown if these are the only continents, as there are very few maps or globes showing all of Nirn. The known Nirn (the part that has been currently mapped) is a mere 11 times smaller than Earth and since they both have very similar gravity it must mean that only a very small part of Nirn has been mapped.
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 11:19
O_O
Jai Guru
October 7, 2014 at 16:39
Well aren’t you just mommy’s little autist.
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 11:08
I love Solstheim as well.
Sith JJ
August 18, 2014 at 11:06
I’m really hoping for a next Elder Scrolls since I feel a bit cheated now that I don’t really like TESO (and can’t justify that monthly payment).
But I think they will. There’s so much more to do and see. Until then I’m still loving Skyrim, never can get enough of it. Especially with all the DLC’s.
Jai Guru
October 7, 2014 at 16:38
You’re a veteran of a game less than a year old…someone’s a retard.
Werner Boshoff
August 18, 2014 at 10:00
haha if you buy subscription you would know why they doing this. This is long overdue, even tho it is a shame kinda. Paying in $ was cheaper than paying in pounds. So even people in the UK bought the subscription in US $. This creates an imbalance in country currencies. Maybe it was a secret plan since blizzard is US based and this “trick” got EVERY person to buy subscription in $.
Sk3tz0
August 18, 2014 at 10:05
Subscription is only an issue to those whose mommies and daddies cant afford to pay the sub. DLC get realeased every other day for AAA games. no one bats an eye.. A MMO increases its sub for the first time in god know how long and every body looses their minds..
Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)
August 18, 2014 at 11:45
Ha! World of WhoreCraft. AMIRITE?
Galbedir
August 18, 2014 at 13:07
Hahahaha! Goodbye World of Warcraft. You definitely had a good run.
MrChinwag
August 18, 2014 at 17:10
Warcraft will still be running while ur Grand Kids get Gank in Strangle Thorn Vale.
Jai Guru
October 7, 2014 at 16:41
Certainly not. They’ve got about 4 years left based on current trends.
MrChinwag
October 11, 2014 at 15:34
only trend you know is the Hashtag search you do on twitter you tw@t..
Verrayne
August 18, 2014 at 13:26
After 10 years they increase the price 10% in a single region..
I don’t see how this is a problem.
MrChinwag
August 18, 2014 at 17:05
Agree
MrChinwag
August 18, 2014 at 17:11
been playing since Vanilla 40man raids. just cuz they upped it for what will be most likely best Xpac since TBC. hell i’m game for that..
Jai Guru
October 7, 2014 at 16:34
They just lost one subscriber.