Blizzard recently announced a change that no one is looking at with too much happiness in regards to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. It seems that some players will be paying more for the game – quite a bit more.
The change only affects players in Australia, so those in other nations won’t need to worry about this price increase. However, Australian players were greeted with the news that World of Warcraft was going to be increasing in price just before the launch of the Shadowlands expansion.
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The increase is considerable, as well. Currently, Australians pay $16.50 per month in a 1-month recurring subscription – in Australian dollars, of course. The price has now been increased to $19.95 per month.
If players intend to go with a different format, they can jump to a 3-month recurring subscription (90 days of game time) for $55.80, which translates to $18.60 a month. This is a considerable increase from the previous $15.40 a month.
Finally, players can also drop $103.50 for a 6-month recurring subscription, which grants 180 days of game time. This equates out to $17.25 per month, an increase over the previous $14.30 per month.
“World of Warcraft is played in many regions around the world, and we regularly conduct reviews of the prices of our games and services in all currencies,” Blizzard wrote on the increase. “From time to time, it’s necessary to make changes to certain pricing based on a variety of factors, including global and regional market conditions.”
Blizzard goes on to thank players for choosing World of Warcraft and assures players that they’re committed to ensuring the game “continues to provide Australian players with great entertainment value.”
It’s worth saying for American readers that see this that the conversion rate actually yields these prices to be lower than the US prices – if the currency were the only thing being questioned and not the economy as a whole, anyway.
For example, a monthly subscription to World of Warcraft is about $15 USD, and once $19.95 is converted from AUD to USD, it comes in at $14.49 by today’s current conversion rate. The new prices actually bring the Australian costs more in line with the United States costs.
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Given that Blizzard is a United States based company, it makes sense that it would end up equating to US prices. That said, it’s still not a popular move by any Australian’s standards, as no one enjoys being made to pay more for their preferred entertainment – especially when a massive expansion is right around the corner, rendering more people hesitant to unsubscribe.