WoW players are disgusted by cost of early access for The War Within
Three World of Warcraft expansions were announced at Blizzcon 2023, all of which have been received fairly positively by the game’s community.
One issue has arisen from the announcement, however, which centres around the high cost of early access to the new content.
Early access to WoW: The War Within costs a “disgusting” amount of money
The War Within is the first of three expansions which will make up the Worldsoul saga, an “epic story that celebrates the first 20 years of World of Warcraft and sets new foundations for Azeroth’s future.”
While players seem generally excited for the expansion, they are less enthusiastic about the pricing.
While the base game costs £39.99, there are two additional editions which cost quite a bit more.
The Heroic Edition is priced at £54.99 and includes a mount with access to special racecourses and Transmog set.
However, the price that has upset the players the most is the Epic Edition, priced at £74.99, which includes three days of early access to the game.
While the early access is the element which has drawn the most attention from this edition, it also comes with the Heroic edition’s mount and Transmog set, guaranteed Beta Access, 30 days of game time, a pet, a toy, and a Hearthstone effect.
Early access to WoW: The War Within costs a “disgusting” amount of money
One Reddit user said: “This is disgusting, cant play with guildies cause they're poor. Whats the point of putting a three day Early Access at a 40 euro premium?”
Another commented: “Modern day Blizzard in a nutshell. This is fucking disgusting.”
"It doesn't get more FOMO than this type of shit. And this is a SUBSCRIPTION game. They want us to pay a sub but then punish us for not spending top-dollar," commented another upset player.
Several players have commented on the FOMO which surrounds MMOs like WoW.
“Played every single game on release night but this is honestly a disappointment. The best thing about WoW is that new expansion hype in the first week who the fuck wants to start later?” asked one player.
While paying for early access to games has become commonplace in recent years, as seen with popular releases like Diablo 4 and Starfield recently, it is a lot more difficult to resist the purchase when guild members and friends that you typically play with might not be on the same page as you.
There is not currently a release date set for the expansion, however it is confirmed to be coming on or before 31 December 2024.
