I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since the original beta in 2004. I’ve dropped out here and there, but always came back. I currently have an active subscription, but I haven’t logged in for a few months. I’ve even uninstalled the game from my PC. This time, it feels like I may be done for good.
Over the last few years, I haven’t felt like I’ve been getting good value for what I’ve been paying for. Every month they want fifteen bucks over the cost of the boxes I’ve bought for the ability to log in. They go far too long without putting any new content in. The grinds seem forced and stifling. I just haven’t been having fun. If Blizzard have lost my attention, then they’re seriously mucking things up.
I’ve decided I’m not going to pay a monthly fee anymore for a game I’ve already purchased. I’ll do one or the other, but not both. I’ve been paying a ridiculous amount of money, but I haven’t gotten a ridiculous amount of content. It’s not that I can’t afford it. I just feel like they’re taking me for granted, and have gotten lazy and complacent, and stopped doing new and creative ideas in the game.
I enjoyed the journey immensely over the years, and I don’t regret it. The current expansion has been a big disappointment, and the new one they just announced looks like more of the same. They didn’t even announce a release date or start taking pre-orders, so it’s probably a long way off, which means another long content drought.
I won’t say I’ll never go back, but they’re going to have to do some things differently to get me to log in again. Dropping the box fee or the subscription fee would be a great start. They just need to do something totally different beyond just ten levels and more gated grinds. They need to innovate.
In the meantime, I’ll be exploring other games for a change. See you out there!