World of Warcraft has taken one more step towards becoming a fully free-to-play (F2P) game. Blizzard has implemented a cash shop in the game where players can seamlessly make purchases without leaving play. The news was broken by a Blizzard representative on the game’s forums.
The new in-game cash shop will feature items such as special paid mounts and pets. The purchase of such items previously had to be done outside of the game. For some players, the convenience of buying mounts in-game could prevent them from going to third-party sites, which has been a popular practice. The new WOW shop also includes items that aid player progression, such as boosted EXP items and lesser charms of good fortune.
The shop will roll out onto Asian servers for player testing and eventually make it to the US and players in other regions. WOW is already F2P for the first 20 levels but once in-game transactions are fully tested and implemented, Blizzard could switch the game to full F2P, a move that could bring back players and help stymie player erosion.
Source: GI.biz
