WoW Token: Coming Soon™
by Its_Immanis - 9 years ago show comments
Blizzard has just released a new blog with additional details about the WoW Token.
The first piece of news from the blog is that patch 6.1.2, which has been in testing on the PTR and contains the infrastructure for the in-game sale of the token, will be released on March 24th. This wasn’t unanticipated as the most recent build for the patch available on the Test Realms was marked as a release candidate, along with the announcement that the maintenance period would be 10 hours long.
Though the patch releases this week, the token will not be immediately available for purchase until a “later date”. Once the token does begin rolling out it will happen on a regional basis starting in the North American region. This region includes North America, Oceania, and Latin America. As the launch gets closer Blizzard will provide additional details, including specific pricing in each region. For now the anticipated price from the Blizzard Store is $20 US, or the equivalent amount in your local currency.
Though the token will not be immediately available for purchase the Auction House will have an additional tab which is only for Game Time Tokens. Unlike the rest of the Auction House, this tab will be connected to all other realms within your region of play to provide the largest pool of buyers and sellers possible. This tab will not be active until the token launches in your region, but you will see it appear in your UI.
For those concerned about the pricing of the token, Blizzard will be setting the initial in-game value of the token based on several factors which includes your region’s in-game economy. From there the market value will be allowed to fluctuate based on your region’s supply and demand. One thing to note, however, is that the seller will always receive the amount of gold for their token that they were quoted when the token was put up for sale.
To see the full post from Blizzard about the release of patch 6.1.2 or for more information about the WoW Game Time Token, check out the official post from Blizzard available here:
The recently announced WoW Token is currently in testing on the PTR, and is slated for launch some time after the March 24 release of Patch 6.1.2. In the meantime, we wanted to share some additional details about the Token, including regional pricing information and more on our global rollout plans.
WoW Token Rollout
We’ll begin rolling out the WoW Token in the weeks following Patch 6.1.2’s release, starting with the Americas game region (including realms serving North America, Oceania, and Latin America) and then expanding to other game regions in the weeks after that. Launching the Token once Patch 6.1.2 has been live for a while will help us ensure the foundation for the feature is solid, and kicking things off with a single region is the best way for us to ensure everything’s going smoothly before launching worldwide. We’ll provide further updates on timing as we get closer to the Token’s launch in each region.
Region-wide Exchange
As discussed in our original announcement, each game region (Americas, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and China) will have its own shared WoW Token exchange. When the rollout begins in the Americas game region, players in North America, Latin America, and Oceania will all be able to purchase a WoW Token from the in-game Shop. In the Americas game region, the price of a Token will be $20 USD (or roughly equivalent in each local currency). We’ll share additional regional pricing details as we get closer to launch.
Once purchased, a Token can then be put up for sale in a region-wide exchange via a new Game Time tab in the Auction House. (Note that while you’ll see the new Game Time tab in that auction house with the launch of Patch 6.1.2, it won’t be active until the WoW Token launches in your region.) While the rest of the Auction House will remain realm-based, a region-wide WoW Token exchange will provide the largest possible pool of prospective buyers and ensures everyone has access to a vibrant, active Token marketplace. In the Americas, Europe, Korea, and Taiwan, players who purchase a WoW Token from the Auction House will be able to redeem it for 30 days of game time.
Going for Gold
Because the Token exchange has to start somewhere, we will be setting the initial gold value of the WoW Token ourselves. The starting gold value in each region will be based on several factors, including regional in-game economies, but ultimately our goal is to select a fair and reasonable starting price. After that, the Token’s gold value will be determined dynamically based primarily on player supply and demand. Simply put, if more WoW Tokens are being listed than are being purchased, the price will automatically drift downward over time. If people are purchasing Tokens from the Auction House faster than they’re being put up for sale, then prices will go up accordingly. As a reminder, to help make sure players can trade WoW Tokens confidently, once a Token sells, the seller will receive the amount of gold they were quoted at the time they listed their Token.
We know a lot of you are excited to exchange a WoW Token or two, and we’re looking forward to making the feature available in the near future. We’ll provide additional updates on the rollout of the WoW Token feature soon.
How do you feel about the upcoming Game Time Token? Is it something you’ll take advantage of (buying or selling)? How much gold would you be willing to spend for 30 days of game time? Let us know what you think in the comments!
