Blizzard is thinking hard about nontraditional business models.
In South Korea, the company plans to offer both
StarCraft II and
World of Warcraft under a combined subscription-based payment plan, while
World of Warcraft's current lead designer has publicly pondered the still-theoretical notion of dropping the MMO's monthly fee at some point in the future.
During a recent press event in Seoul, Blizzard said that Korean
World of Warcraft subscribers would have free access to
StarCraft II as long as their
WoW subscriptions are active. The company will offer this dual-game pass for 9,990 won (about $8) a month, or 2,000 won (about $1.65) for a day. The game will still be offered as a standalone no-subscription box as well, as in the West.
Blizzard likely instituted the shared subscription model to drive Korean interest in
World of Warcraft more than in
StarCraft II.
While
WoW is the company's biggest game worldwide, the
StarCraft series holds that honor in South Korea, and Blizzard may be hoping that players who are already sold on
StarCraft II will take advantage of this deal to try out the company's MMO.
And in the longer term, Blizzard says it is open to experimenting with
World of Warcraft's subscription model or even dropping it as a mandatory payment plan, as fellow MMO developer Turbine has done with its
Lord of the Rings Online and
Dungeons & Dragons Online.
"At some point, it may not make sense for us to have a subscription fee," said lead designer Tom Chilton
in a PC Gamer interview.
Chilton said that such a drastic move could arise in the future as a response to external or even internal competition in the MMO space; Blizzard is known to be developing another massively multiplayer game, although no details on its setting or gameplay have been released.
"If another game comes along and blows us away it may not make sense for us to have a subscription fee," he said, "or even further down the line, when we have another MMO out."
