Blizzard: Free-to-play WOW 'possible'

I think you should have to buy the base game after the trial, have to pay for expansions and keep all the other stuff aside from the game its self, cost.

Usually, premium MMOs only do this when they're suffering... Is there something you're not saying, Blizzard? Microtransaction-based models usually only make enough to maintain the servers.

that would be awesome! i have wanted to play for a long time but i'm not alowed to spend money on MMORPGs

i would like wow to go free to play but without the microtransactions

I find myself going back to WoW only when I have extra time to play (during the summer mostly) because I can't warrant paying the monthly fee when I have classes since I barely play - however, this would definitely bring me back - depending on the "microtransactions" I guess.

That would be pretty awesome. O_O First DDO, now maybe WoW.

Only way I'll start playing

Wow!...that's great

They should just lower the price of the monthly fees. I'd never get it now, becuase I think $15 a month is too much to pay to play a game I already bought. However, if it was $5 to $10, I might get it and play it. Then again, I might just stick to my single player games, and the games with free multiplayer online play.

@Bananargh - It isn't because people can't pay that they want to put it as free-to-play. It's mostly because it will attract more users, and they probably could make a few realms 'free-to-play' and make you pay for certain stuff. Like instead of gold for a mount, you pay $1.99 or $.99 that kind of stuff. They won't go free-to-play completely like Dungeons and Dragons, unless their subscriptions start to dwindle fast and they have nothing else to do but go free-to-play. We'll see, I'm waiting for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and will pay for that for sure. It looks amazing.

The majority of people who quit probably didn't quit because "they couldn't afford it" Bananargh. I personally quit because all the end game content was cleared within a few weeks after hitting 80. The game was getting easier and easier after BC released then it just became a run of the mill "cater to bad players" type of game with the release of WoTLK. Make all the "fights" idiot proof so every player can participate and make them feel like they're getting their money worth.

God dam! Just because some people can't afford to pay doesn't mean make the game free. ****!

People have probably stopped playing WoW or discarded it as a game to play just on hearing this news. Free to play is just a nice way of putting "Free to get pwned, pay to pwn" in most F2P games. And if you decide to pay for stuff that you would normally get at 15$ per month, you will probably end up spending MUCH more than 15$, because they will make it last 1 day (such as 1 day pets) or make it lock down on you if you don't renew (like extra bank slots, keep on paying or your items are locked in the extra slots). So it's either going to be a very aggressive Item Mall, like mounts only available in IM, can't level up past Lv20/30/40/etc.. unless you buy some BS IM stuff, or it's going to be very advantageous IM, like buying Legendary quality items, armor sets, profession stuff and/or having access to raid instances. Either way, it's is going to ruin WoW as we know it and love it. @losecannon16: Who gives a F*** about private servers, if Blizzard is ready to shoot itself to get rid of a pale copy of WoW that is just full of Polish and Czech people (that I never want to see on official servers because they are R*T*RDS, dealt with them for 3 years, trust me), then Blizzard should just shoot itself out of business while it's at it. It's like DRM BS we are getting cuz some people don't wanna pay 30$ for a CD with 1 good song on it. Don't give us sh*t with your problems, deal with it without involving the legit people.

And if there is ever a free-to-play-wow, the servers will get flooded by spammers, fools and kids, and you will get a major increase in latency, there will be a much bigger "vapor" player base, with people coming in to play for just 1 week and then disappearing. I feel Blizzard is getting desperate, maybe the economy is hitting on them, but they shouldn't sabotage themselves just cuz they can't handle problems everyone have to deal with, I say it should just keep going, lower the monthly fee if you have to, but don't do anything stupid like free-to-play. Think of something new content wise, not new let's-f*ck-ourselves-up wise.

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if they do such, private servers will be history, a good manouver against it.

@vengeance00 That would really make me laugh...ah, Guild Wars...

oh and beacuase of that guild wars now has more then wow at 6 million. heres a link to the story, but also type in google "wow loses 6 million subscribers" and you get a lot of links, though blizzard say their only shutting them down for a month so i'm guessin their going to try and negociate. http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2009/07/wow-subscriptions-down-to-5-million.html

i'm surprised gamespot hasn't found out that WOW lost 6 million of it's subscribers after shutting down it's china servers because china and blizzard had a disagreement and china no longer allows it in their country.

This would be great, my Wow is eating dust, and it takes a lot of time, free 2 play owuld be the wright thing to do, and keep the servers runung, it wolud be unforgettable if servers would go offline... i would never buy another Blizz game again if that happend, And i allready decided 2 starcraft 2 and diablo 3. And Warcraft 2 battle.net Edition :) .

No subscritpion, woa. I could see a huge jump in subscriber base if that did happen.

it would be great that wow came free-to-play i always love wow but only because i have to pay i dont play it (not enough gold) but ones is free ill play

This is a long way off... Think decline of WoW.

i really hope that there will be a free to play WOW

i actually dont want to see this happen. i think they best thing they could do is to lower the monthly cost, but not go to microtransactions. then it just gets into how many real dollars are you willing to pay for your gear, not how much time are you willing to spend. Cause I know for sure - ain't no way I'm gonna be buying my gear. Keep the playing field level

@J0nGalt 500000 Subscribers? did you mean 500,000,000? cuz one of the red links says more than 11 million subscribers...

OMG YES

Free WOW sweet, I like the game but 15 bucks a month really sucks. Hoping late 2009 or early 2010.

As a former WoW player, I can tell you WoW is really starting to decline. There are virtually no queues on any of the servers anymore. The new content is mostly just new raids. Just more bosses to kill but no major change to gameplay. The formula is getting old and with the economy people don't want to be tied down with another monthly payment. Free to play is still far off but don't be surprised if they lower the $15 per month by the end of the year.

maybe a wacraft 4 any time soon

makes me feel bad about tossin 500 yen a year!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry everyone but i know few great f2p games that easily match WoWs gameplay and world.Rappelz, and a few on aeria games.Imagine Online surpasses it in originality easily.You dont "need" the micro transactions typically to be honest.They are just there if you want them.

It's a ******** joke. World of Warcraft died mid-TBC.

Blizzard to go f2p =/ ... we'll just have to see how it goes, but i doubt they will ever do that until something (maybe aion) takes there crown. I think they would probably cut subscription fees by 30-40% before they ever consider the f2p option.

WOW will go Free play when it has 500,000 subscribers and there is a new big dog in town. Until then don't get your hopes up.

I agree though the subscription caused me to leave, it would be bad for users and the company if it goes F2P. However WOW has made more than enough for Blizzard to still be waist deep in cash with or without changes

F2P games are the burnt-out stars of the MMORPG world. Of course WoW will go F2P "when it has to." I don't see that happening for a while.

thats VERY good news

still dont understand the appeal of WOW,it just the warhammer world gone soft

well i spose that could be better news for people who dont play as often, or as 'hardcore'...

Free to play games always have some way of convincing you to spend money in some other way... gear... abilities... extra content and so on. Some, myself included, would find that getting nickled and dimed for that kind of stuff is much more painful than the subscription ever was. Oh... and Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 are never coming out... after 3 Blizzcons of Starcraft content you haven't figured that one out yet!? =\

I personally think that abolishing monthly fees would be an incredible idea, because WoW is a delight I haven't had the pleasure of trying yet (although I have tried similar things like Dark Age of Camelot, and a Runescape membership), yet if this game is as addictive as I've heard it is (it was all my friend used to talk about in primary school, and apparently his aunty plays it until after 2 o' clock in the morning!), then a pay as you play system would be a lot more profitable for Blizzard, as many or all addicts would end up paying at least twice as much as the monthly fees.

A pay as you play system would be awful, you would always be thinking about what time you logged on and your limits. That would just ruin wow for me.

Hell, I'd play again if it were free. Even if it was "pay as you play," based more on hours then on months, then I'd join again. Yes, there'd be more n00bs, but there'd also be plenty of people who can't afford to pay $180 a year for a game. Also, you'd have more people who sign on for about and hour, or run an instance, and then sign off. You wouldn't need to play all-day everyday (which I used to) because you wouldn't have to feel like you'd not get your money's worth if you didn't. It's a great game, just expensive as hell, upkeep-wise. And most of all, you'd be able to keep your friends. :D

If there's a fee,it should be based on time actually playing(pay as you play).Either that or they will probably have some sort of extra content with the monthly fee. @Wolfie600 Yes without a monthly fee there will be more noobs :D

I really like WoW but I can't keep the money up with no job lol plus doesn't blizzard have enough money already?

It's basically, "We could do it. But we like money". LoL. Just kidding. I love Blizzard. When is Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 coming?!

Blizzard will have even MORE cash when Diablo 3 releases.. Just axe the subscription fees so i can go back into WoW. The only downside? MORE noobs :).

See i think all company that have mmog Try the P2P, and then a free type with additional stuff to buy,and then decide what they like most, and.... what brings in the most profit.

why cant they just make it pay as you play the greedy pigs. i understand that there are administrative costs but i think they'd still have them easily covered, and be able to drive to work in gold and diamond encrusted lamborghinis.