Blizzard has introduced a forthcoming currency to World Of Warcraft that will hopefully put an end to third-party gold trades and account compromises. The WoW Token, hopes to both rewards longtime players and appease those who look to trade for gold.
Announced early today on the World Of Warcraft Blog, the WoW Token has a lot going for it, from being able to purchase it via real money, or in-game gold via the auction house. The WoW Token itself is worth 30 days of gametime and has no set real-world price yet. However, given that 30 days of gametime currently sells for $14.99 expect it around there.
Players will be able to trade WoW Tokens at set values based on supply and demand and each region at the Auction House. Once you have purchased it with Gold you will not be able to resell it. Blizzard has also answered the reasoning to why they decide to implement a WoW Token.
“We’ve heard feedback from players that they’d be interested in a secure, legitimate way to acquire gold that doesn’t involve the use of unauthorized third-party gold-selling services—one of the primary sources of account compromises. We also know players who’ve amassed large amounts of gold through regular play would be interested in the ability to trade some to other players in exchange for game time, helping cover their subscription costs. The WoW Token feature gives players on both sides of the equation a secure and straightforward way to make that exchange. It opens up a new kind of payment option for World of Warcraft players, and we hope that it will also help lead to fewer account compromises and a better game experience overall.”
Blizzard have also stated that tokens will not expire and are unable to be deleted. So they will stay with you as long as the game exists. It is an interesting way to facilliate an economy within the game and might end up having the community divided. No word on when the WoW Token will be released except a very vague ‘later date’.
