How many xpacs until WoW will go F2P with a SW:TOR like sub-option?

[Kryos]

Since the subs dropped so much that Blizzard decided to stop telling us the numbers and the game subs are in a steady decline since 2011 (that if continues at identical pace would mean no more subs in 2019 - but we will reach the hardcore-fans plateau before that) I wonder when WoW will go F2P.
All signs are already there. Money to buy gold, Money to buy instant level 100, level 100 trials in Legion, money for cosmetic items like pets mounts and three hats are all already in the game. All that is missing are few more crafting- and xp-boosters for money.

I think if WoW would go that path they would continue to offer the regular subscription just like SW:TOR offers (where you get free tokens to buy boosters each month).

This would increase the numbers of players significant. It even worked for failed sub-MMORPGs and made them lucrative enough to run for years. Rift for example (they had 1 million subs in 2011) is still running.

What do you think, how many sub-only expansions are we looking at? I think Legion could already be the last one.

[vesuviouz]

my opinion, i dont think it will ever go FTP.

[oqtopus]

lol you do realise that at its lowest point we still had far more subs then any other mmo ?

sub numbers arent shared but some census tests revealed there wer around 5m end of november ( before legion announcement so i assume it has been gone up a bit i could be totally wrong here tho )

but still 5m x 12$ each month is ALOT of money , there is 0 reason for them to go f2p

tl:dr not anytime soon

[Amerissis]

15.3421211.

That's my bet.

[thilicen]

That's not going to happen. Even at an all time low the WoW sub number is still very high compared to other MMOs.

[Mukor]

It won't go F2P. It's still a major cash cow that has alot of milk to give. The subs will jump once legion hits.

You can mention Rift, SWtOR, and FF but they may have a F2P model and do well for themselves but look at all the MMOs that came out and failed.

[Serissa]

The subs will jump once legion hits.

Yea, without a doubt. But real question is how big that jump could be and how fast and how much it will fall down again.

[lightofdawn]

it wont go f2p. if anything legion will bring back a ton of people... not cause more to quit

[Ciddy]

Yeah, subs always jump when a new expansion comes out because unsubscribed players are coming back to check out the new content (I'll be one of them when Legion comes out). The interesting thing to see there is how many of those players stick around after the first 3-4 months pass.

In my case, it'll depend on whether or not Legion can keep me interested longer than WoD did.

OT: I can't see the game going free to play unless it gets to the point where it's not worth it for Blizzard to keep maintaining things. Free to play will probably be a bad thing for the game, because I imagine that means things are going to get cut back a lot (some servers getting shut down, etc).

[Deleted]

it wont go f2p. if anything legion will bring back a ton of people... not cause more to quit

it will cause a jump, who knows it might flop?, the movie might be bad aswell?, Dont expect it to be amazing, The drop in subs after a month or so could be huge

[Sylvaeres]

Wow will never be F2P unless it's after the final expansion has made it's money and they declare it dead. Star Wars went F2P because it was an absolute flop. WoW is still doing record numbers compared to any MMO around

[HordeFanboy]

never
/chars10

[Deleted]

Not in the near future. At least that's what I think. WoW still has people who spend hundreds of dollars every month on the token-system and/or character services and there are still enough subs to back them up.

Will their change the system at some point? Maybe. But I don't think it will happen anytime soon.

[Schmilblick]

Probably never.

[Sylvaeres]

Yea, without a doubt. But real question is how big that jump could be and how fast and how much it will fall down again.

Doesn't even matter as long as people buy the expansion. That alone will pay all the bills and line those pockets

[Darththeo]

Wow will never be F2P unless it's after the final expansion has made it's money and they declare it dead. Star Wars went F2P because it was an absolute flop. WoW is still doing record numbers compared to any MMO around

It wasn't really a flop, it wasn't a bad game at all. The problem was that it came out with WoW. WoW had more content as it was out longer ... you can't release a game with only 3 PvP maps and limited raids. You can't release something without a group finder. The game was released at a time where players expect more from a released MMO.

A flop to me is a bad game, SWToR isn't a bad game. I suppose you can say it was a commercial flop as it didn't make the money it should, but that is referring to money, not quality. To me, ESO was a flop.

[thilicen]

It wasn't really a flop, it wasn't a bad game at all. The problem was that it came out with WoW. WoW had more content as it was out longer ... you can't release a game with only 3 PvP maps and limited raids. You can't release something without a group finder. The game was released at a time where players expect more from a released MMO.

A flop to me is a bad game, SWToR isn't a bad game.

A more correct definition of the term flop is purely financial. What you're suggesting is based on personal opinion and preference, while financial numbers can determine this on a factual level in terms of expected profits vs realized profits, x amount of sales and so on.

Did SWTOR deliver below expected numbers in both profits and sales? If so, it's a flop.
A game doesn't have to flop in order for a dev to re-evaluate their business model. Even with sales and profits being at or above expected numbers there might still be a more sustainable or even more profitable future for the game if they change it.

With WoW you know people will buy it and subscribe to it at more than high enough numbers, so there's not really any chance for this game to go F2P. The closest we will ever come is being able to buy game-time through in-game currency, but only as long as someone else is paying the bill, which in turn is why the whole WoW token system is 100% dependant on supply and demand.

[Adamas102]

it wont go f2p. if anything legion will bring back a ton of people... not cause more to quit

They'll come back, but just as with WoD most won't stick around. Not because Legion won't be good (I think it looks great), but rather because they will once again realize that they don't really have the desire to play a game they quit years ago.

The sub numbers will spike for expansions, then drop down again, and then continue to dwindle down as would be expected of a game that is long past its peak. That being said, I doubt they will ever go FTP.

[Raptar]

Legion will bring back so many people, trust me. My intuition also says people will stick around and won't unsub. Also because of this it won't go F2P. I think we may wish it's never going F2P, just imagine how the botters, hackers, negative people et cetera will incease in a high rate because there are too less GMs around to do anything about it.

[Pallamouna]

Star wars went f2p because of EA and because they release it too fast, with a ton of bugs and mistakes.As for WoW i believe soon or later will go for f2p, with soon not in near future.Everything goes there.F2p is lets say the new model.Tokens, cosmetic items wow has now, is something other f2p mmo's has it yers ago.So yes soon or later.