"World of Warcraft" developer Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled a new token system that aims to make the game's subscription cost cheaper.
According to a post on the game's blog, the "WoW Tokens" will be made available through an upcoming patch.
Blizzard explained that players can purchase the tokens using real money or through their credit cards. They can then sell these tokens in exchange for gold using the game's Auction House. The purchased token will then be converted into online game time.
"Players will be able to purchase a 'WoW Token' through the in-game Shop for real money, and then sell it on the Auction House for gold at the current market price," the developer wrote in the blog post.
"When a player buys a 'WoW Token' from the Auction House for gold, the Token becomes Soulbound, and the player can then redeem it for 30 days of game time," Blizzard continued.
The developer noted that the price of the tokens will vary according to the game's current supply and demand trend. Once the tokens have been purchased by another player through the Auction House, the seller will receive the gold through their account's mailbox.
According To Ion Hazzikostas, the game designer of "World of Warcraft," Blizzard decided to introduce the new token system as an attempt to eliminate third-party gold sellers. He noted that doing so will help stabilize the game's online economy as well as set a fair standard for the market value of gold, IGN reported.
In addition, Blizzard mentioned that sometimes the gold sold by third-party sellers came from compromised or stolen accounts.
"We certainly saw advantages in curbing the behavior of illicit gold sellers and the third-party market, we're well aware of the negative impact that's had on players who gave their accounts compromised and cleaned out in this never-ending thirst for gold," Hazzikostas explained to IGN.
