World of Warcraft has been around since 2004. As such, Blizzard has a pretty good business model in place for the title. One that has barely changed in the last decade and a half; save for subscription prices dropping a bit, and the bundling of previous expansions into handy packages. However, there has always been one constant: World of Warcraft required players to get the current version of the game, as well as a subscription. Now, in a genuinely surprising move, Blizzard has revealed that you can get access to all expansions with a single World of Warcraft subscription. No additional purchase required.

Until now, players who wanted to get in on all the action have had to pick up the Warcraft Battle Chest – a bundle that includes all previous expansions, along with the main game. Now, however, players gain access to all content up to and including the Legion expansion. All for one set monthly price of $15 USD.

While the World of Warcraft subscription does not include the most recent expansion, Battle for Azeroth, the move is unprecedented for both Activision Blizzard, and World of Warcraft. So while players still need to shell out $50 USD for the newest expansion, new or returning players can join the story from the beginning without worrying about needing to buy the Battle Chest. This change comes on the heels of the release of Battle of Azeroth, the game’s most recent expansion; which is set for release on 14 August 2018. The recent pricing model significantly lowers the barrier of entry for the game.

Players who want to give World of Warcraft a try can also simply play the Starter Edition for free. The Starter Edition permits you to do the first set of story missions featured in the vanilla World of Warcraft experience, and allows you to level up to level 20 before you are barred from progressing.

In my opinion, I think that the World of Warcraft subscription fee alone is still quite steep. With that said, the three payment options ($15 USD per month, $14 USD per month for three fixed months, or $12 USD per month for six fixed months) should make it an easier decision for most players.

[Sources: Kitguru, Polygon, The Gamer]

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Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.