World of Warcraft players in the UK are facing hefty price hikes for various account services thanks to “regional market conditions”.
In a press release, Blizzard Entertainment revealed that it would soon jack up pricing across the UK and Europe for a wide range of paid-for account services tied to the World of Warcraft game.
However, it’s important to note that the monthly subscription fee (£9.99 in the UK) isn’t rising; we’re only seeing price hikes on optional services. The cost of the base game also appears to be remaining static.
Still, it’s bad news for anyone who was hoping to grab a name change, transfer their character to another realm, or purchase a cosmetic mount. Starting from April 5, 2017, players can expect prices to rise from anywhere between 15% and 25%.
Here’s a table of the price changes:
| Service | Current Price | New Price (GBP) | New Price (Euro) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name Change | €8 | €10 | £9 |
| Helms | €12 | €15 | £13 |
| WoW Token | €20 | No change | £17 |
| Character Transfer | €20 | €25 | £19 |
| Race Change | €20 | €25 | £19 |
| Mounts | €20 | €25 | £19 |
| Premium Mounts | €25 | €30 | £27 |
| Pet & Mount Bundle | €26 | €30 | £27 |
| Faction Change | €25 | €30 | £27 |
| Guild Transfer | €30 | €35 | £30 |
| Guild Faction Change | €35 | €40 | £35 |
| Character Transfer & Faction Change | €45 | €55 | £46 |
| Character Boost | €50 | €60 | £49 |
| Guild Transfer & Faction Change | €55 | €65 | £55 |
Blizzard justified the price hike in a statement:
“
Of course, some users haven’t taken the news particularly well, especially since there’s a widespread perception that the prices were already too high. Here are some posts from a Reddit thread on the subject:
“Reads the title. Cool, finally those ridiculously expensive micro-transactions won’t cost as much! It was kind of ridiculous in a game with a normal price and a subscription fee to…to…what?!” – lethiela
“So they’re making these services that are absurdly expensive…more expensive? What?” – Zephorian
“It now officially costs as much as a just-released AAA game for a full transfer (server plus faction) for ONE character, on a very old game with a paid release, half a dozen paid expansions and a monthly sub.” – Microchaton
You can still acquire the services at pre-rise prices until April 5, 2017.
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What do you think of the Warcraft price hikes? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
