My journey into Azeroth began during the middle of The Burning Crusade expansion pack. I was in middle school at the time, and my friend introduced me into one of the most captivating worlds in gaming history. From then on out, I was a die-hard Blizzard fan. Every expansion roped me back into the massively multiplayer online role playing game, no matter how much I had played previously. If I could log in right now, I’m sure my /played time on my main character would be months worth.
If you’re like me, and you’ve been following the franchise for so long, you’ll know we had to purchase each expansion pack individually. That was 40-60 bucks for Wrath, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords, and Legion. Now, each one of those expansion packs are included with the standard 15 bucks-a-month subscription fee that Blizzard charges players.
Just like the worgen sniffing glitch, I’m getting a strong smell of desperation from the Warcraft team. With Battle for Azeroth, the next expansion in the game’s near 15 year lifeline, arriving in less than a month, the developers must be clamoring for players to come back so they can re-ignite the fires of this once renowned game.
But honestly, the hype just isn’t there anymore. Blizzard’s downfall began when subscriber numbers hit all time lows during Mists of Pandaria and Warlords, so much so that they had to sell “character boosts” so that you could pay your way to maximum level. Then, you could buy your subscription through the in-game currency, just so players would continue playing even if they didn’t want to pay for their subscription anymore. Let’s be honest, 15 dollars a month for a game with 2004 graphics and mechanics is a little greedy, and I ain’t talking Goblins here.
Is it time for Blizzard to retire World of Warcraft and build a new MMO from the ground up? Even after my severe disappointment in Draenor, I still came back to Legion, which was a significant improvement over the previous two expansions. But my height was in Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm, where I was so involved and happy.
I honestly don’t believe Battle for Azeroth will recapture that glory for me, so I’ve made the firm decision not to re-subscribe.
