World of Warcraft director Ion Hazzikostas has confirmed there’s “no long-term advantage” for players willing to pay for early access to the next expansion.
Back at BlizzCon last week, The War Within expansion was revealed along with two further expansions to begin the multi-part Worldsoul Saga. However, the Epic edition (costing $89.99) includes guaranteed beta access and three days of early access, the first time Warcraft has offered this.
Fans have responded angrily, as per this reddit thread, but Hazzikostas said the studio is following a trend.
“It is a trend across the industry that we’re paying attention to. A number of games have done it,” he told PC Gamer. “…We’re looking to make sure that we’re maximising the value of our expansion offerings, of these expansion bundles.