Blizzard has made some curious changes to the way players can purchase game time for World of Warcraft, its aging but popular MMORPG. The options to buy game time in pre-paid chunks of 30, 90, and 180 days have been removed, leaving only the 60-day option. You’ll of course still be able to purchase a recurring monthly subscription, however.

While Blizzard hasn’t directly stated this, some believe that this move is an effort to put a dent in key market sales. This would also push more people into subscribing to WoW instead, as subscriptions cost £9.99 per month, with the monthly cost going down if you pay upfront for longer periods of subscription time – a six month subscription for instance costs £8.69 per month, billed as a payment of £52 every 180 days.

This does not affect World of Warcraft subscriptionsthat can still be purchased monthly (or in increments of 90 and 180 days). While subscriptions are probably the most common way to access World of Warcraft, many players prefer to purchase game time as a one-time purchase. It̵'s a great option if you don’t gamble consistently as you can just buy a little game time whenever you need it instead of committing to a monthly fee that might be wasted. Buying such game time is also preferable to many gamblers in different countries where credit cards are not always a common method of payment. However, at the end of the day, it’s just nice to have more ways to pay.

Understandably, gamers are usually not too eager at having fewer buy choices and have taken to the forums and Reddit to complain.

“This actually doesn’t sit nicely, only a blatant cash gouging tactic,” one participant stated. “Why ought to we magically be compelled to commit to 2 months at a time if we selected to not go the route of an energetic sub? They’re simply attempting to push gamers in the direction of [subscribing] as a result of they know any reoccurring subscription that robotically fees you.”

Blizzard’s official explanation isn’t particularly helpful: “We recently conducted a review on the available services in all currencies”, the company wrote in an email announcement. “Based on this, we have decided to alter the available Game Time options in the Blizzard Shop. As of today, the Game Time options of 30, 90, and 180 days have been removed and Game Time is only available as a purchase of 60 Days.”

While game time cards are changing, Blizzard is not making changes to WoW tokens, which grant 1 month of game time per token, or subscription prices. The timing here is particularly interesting, as WoW Classic will soon be updated with The Burning Crusade expansion, which is currently in beta testing.

Buying World of Warcraft Classic Gold is a known issue. You see something on the auction house but you're missing the necessary gold to buy that one mount or this item. Farming is boring and no fun for most players, that's where z2u.com gives customers the perfect alternative to get their gold fast. No matter if you buy Mounts, Items or your daily needs of crafting goods and consumables. Gamelooting is the best partner if you need gold. We're looking especially for immediate availability and fast delivery. No false promises from our side - we're always trying to improve our delivery process. Customer satisfaction is our top priority.