While the western view of World of Warcraft is that it’s a subscription-only MMO, the Blizzard team have long experimented with alternates to a traditional subscription to remain competitive in different markets. Multiple micro-transaction items are available to buy for the most committed World of Warcraft players – including shiny star horses, and warrior panda pets. In Korea, the game is sold purely via subscription fee, with no boxed product available. And Korean World of Warcraft subscribers will get to play StarCraft II for free, too. In Russia, StarCraft II is sold in small monthly instalments – a salve to a market where piracy is rampant.

Don’t cancel your subscription just yet though: WoW isn’t going free-to-play in the near term. When asked if Blizzard were actively considering the implications of a free-to-play model, Tom played down the idea of the game switching over right away. “We’re not spending a lot of time thinking about it. It’s not something that’s a reality for us in the near future.”