Blizzard would like to keep the WoW Classic party… and revenue stream… going, lest that team appear next on Phil Spencer’s every increasing list of layoff targets, and they need some help.
Can you re-run a cataclysm?
Having split WoW Classic into four different flavors at this point and facing the peril of the main thread heading into what was once considered one of the worst WoW expansions… at least until Shadowlands came along… with the coming of Cataclysm Classic, they really need some more people playing… and paying. So they are giving it away for free, at least for the weekend.
Or at least that is my take. Your mileage may vary. Either way, WoW Classic is free to play for the weekend… but only the Cataclysm Classic flavor according to the news piece. So come enjoy the pre-patch!
The instructions are:
- Download the Battle.net® desktop app
- Launch the app and log in to your account.
- Within the app, click on the World of Warcraft tab, then either Install or Update.
- When the installation or update is complete, click Play.
- Play free through May 13, 2024, at 10:00 am PDT!
Also, Blizzard would very much like you to buy some things and they have a new WoW Classic focused shop as a vehicle for your virtual good needs… again, they want to stay off of Spencer’s list, because the word is that he is far from done on his cutting spree. But I guess they won’t need developers once they develop an AI that can do more than parlor tricks.
Related:
- Blizzard – Join the Welcome Back Weekend May 9-13
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
I saw something about this on MMOBomb last night and this morning I read your post but so far nothing from Blizzard. They send me “Please come back” emails all the time with teasers of new events or offers but they never appear in my inbox until well after whatever event or offer they’re promoting has already started. Sometimes days after.
You’d think if they’re trying to get people to come back for a limted-time event like this, they’d want to get the word out before it begins but apparently not.
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Odd that. It seems like something they would/should have an email campaign ready to go on. I haven’t seen anything related to a couple of unsubscribed accounts I have, even if the bypassed my main.
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Blizzard offering a free weekend for WoW Classic, likely to get more players and keep the game successful.
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It needs to be said periodically that what corporate types view as a success is not what the average player views as a success. Corporations view success as a dollars and cents matter –the more profit made, the greater the success– whereas players view the quality of the game played as a measure of success. Therefore, by this measure, the larger number of cash shop items sold (courtesy of the ease of which those items are created versus profitability) the better.
I’m sure that part of the reason why this came out now rather than later is because the WoW Classic team has the statistics of people playing the pre-patch, and they are “concerned”.
However, for me the most important part of the advertising blitz is the announcement of items in the WoW Classic shop, which is this part of the announcement:
“The WoW Classic Shop is Open
The Battle.net® Shop has also recently added new and familiar items for WoW Classic progression fans, such as the Auspicious Arborwyrm flying mount, Pebble pet, along with other mounts, toys, and Hearthstone effect.”
I did not italicize the “WoW Classic progression” part, but Blizz did. That’s a conscious effort to tie in progression to items in the cash shop; or to put it another way, to get whales to pay for the items there.
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That is what I was getting at with my tone, as MSFT is clearly going to cut more on the XBox Games front. Blizz would like to stay off the list for now.
Of course, MSFT no doubt wants to free up that cash so they can set it alight on the altar of their AI god in the hope that more CPUs and more data will somehow create magic. Games might not be profitable enough, but AI is currently a money pit.
Also, you think crypto soaked up electricity for no benefit? AI has clearly asked humanity to hold its beer while it tries to soak up all available power to make a chat bot slightly better the Eliza.
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Sir, I must applaud you for your usage of Eliza in your comment. I did try Eliza back in the day for curiosity’s sake, and I share your opinion that AI “companions” these days are little better than Eliza. Or rather, they’re Eliza with a) more memory of your word choices and search/browsing results, and b) more monetization.
If you told me that MSFT’s ultimate aim is to buy out Sony’s games division, I’d believe it. Microsoft could absorb the entirety of Sony and spit out the parts that most of us old hands would consider the real Sony: the audio and video equipment.
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