You do not need to buy World of Warcraft anymore

Blizzard quietly abandons the requirement that you buy World of Warcraft as well as subscribe to play each month. Now all content is included in the subscription, with the exception of launching the Battle for Azeroth extension on August 14th.

Since its release in 2004, World of Warcraft has remained faithful to a very familiar income model. First, you need to buy the game, which comes with 30 days of free game time. After that, a subscription of $ 14.99 per month was required to continue playing.

Almost 14 years later, and Blizzard is finally changing this model by removing the requirement to buy the game first. Instead, simply subscribe allows you to access all content currently available. The only exception to this is the future expansion packs, including the upcoming Battle of Azeroth.

As Polygon reports, Blizzard does not make much of it (yet). The Battle Chest Box has disappeared from the Blizzard Online Store and a subscription allows all content to be accessible until Legion. So for you $ 15 each month, you get the basic game content as well as The Burning Crusade, Lich King Anger, Cataclysm, Pandaria Mists, Draenor Lords and Legion. I hate to think how much it costs if you buy each extension at the exit.

By removing the need to buy the game, Blizzard lowers the barrier to entry and eliminates any potential confusion. The game now costs $ 15 per month and you have access to all available content by default.

The Battle of Azeroth extension arrives August 14 and costs $ 49.99 for the Standard Edition, $ 69.99 for the Deluxe Digital Edition, or $ 99.99 for the Collector's edition. With so much content included in the subscription, however, I am sure that many players will now wait to see if this latest extension will eventually be added for free as part of the subscription rather than the only one. buy next month.