World of Warcraft Just Launched Its Most Expensive Treehouse – Costing $40
World of Warcraft’s cash shop continues to expand, with Blizzard now selling a bundle containing two treehouse-themed house skins for $40. The “Housing System” is the newest and most important feature in World of Warcraft, fully implemented with the recent launch of the “Midnight” expansion (though pre-order players experienced some content as early as late last year). As early as February of this year, Blizzard began selling paid items related to housing, such as a set of surprisingly inexpensive plush toy decorations.
However, this “low-price strategy” quickly ended.
In March of this year, Blizzard began selling decorative trees individually for 750 Hearthsteel (approximately $7.50) and also launched a rather expensive bundle. Unsurprisingly, strong player opposition forced Blizzard to quickly lower the price.
Now, a new “price shock” has appeared: Blizzard has launched a house skin bundle containing two treehouse-style skins for $40; another package, priced at $75, includes these skins along with a large number of decorations. Both are the most expensive housing microtransactions to date, and players cannot purchase either skin individually.
It’s not surprising that Blizzard continues to sell housing items, but these prices are clearly at odds with their previous promises to players.
Last year, when data mining revealed Blizzard’s plans to introduce a new paid currency called “Hearthsteel” for the housing system, officials stepped in to explain that this currency would help players purchase different quantities of “cheap” items more “efficiently”—the key word being “cheap.” In addition, Blizzard explicitly stated that most housing items should be obtained through in-game means rather than purchased from the shop.
This is why the recent skin bundle has caused dissatisfaction. World of Warcraft already requires players to purchase expansions and pay a monthly fee, and Blizzard has been adding microtransactions for over a decade. However, on the housing system, officials signaled that they “would take a different approach.”
What really frustrates players is that Blizzard is starting to sell new skins at high prices when the number of housing skins available in the game is extremely limited. Currently, each faction only has two basic templates to choose from.
While players can customize to some extent by adding windows, building towers, and modifying the shape and color of the roof, the default options remain very limited. Theoretically, players can use a lot of time and creativity to transform the house into something completely different using the decoration system, but this requires a lot of time and resources, and the number of decorations that can be placed outdoors is also limited, further restricting the possibilities.
In this situation of “scarce optional content,” Blizzard selling new house skins for $40 doesn’t look good. The newly launched skin bundle further reinforces this feeling, as there are almost no suitable alternatives in the game.
It is currently unclear whether the price of these skins will be quickly lowered, as happened with previous controversial packages. But at least for now, if you’re eager to “reskin” your house, Blizzard is ready to charge you.
In addition, the recent weeks haven’t been smooth sailing for World of Warcraft. The latest content update was plagued with problems and bugs after launch, eventually forcing Blizzard to issue an official apology and promise to “do better.”