World of Warcraft
Released 23 November 2004 Developer Blizzard Entertainment
A fantasy online role-playing game in which you build a hero and explore the world of Azeroth alongside thousands of other players, completing quests, running dungeons and raids and joining guilds. It has been running since 2004 and is aimed at teens and adults who want a long-term online world.
Money health
CautionBuilt to push spending
Addictive design
Mild2 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price
—no price listed yet
Spending ceiling
No ceilingRepeat purchases, no limit
Australian rating
Fantasy violence, online content that may change (classified 16 September 2009)
How it makes money
Caution: built to push spending
To play beyond level 20 you pay a monthly subscription: A$23.95 for one month, falling to A$249 for twelve months on Blizzard's February 2025 Australian price list. You also need to own the current expansion (Midnight, March 2026; at launch the digital editions ran from US$49.99 for Base to US$89.99 for Epic in the US). On top of that Blizzard runs an optional in-game shop for cosmetic mounts, pets and services, and the WoW Token (A$32) lets players swap real money for in-game gold. A typical player's ongoing spend is the subscription alone.
How you pay
- Cash trading
The WoW Token costs A$32 and adds 30 days of game time; players buy it with real money and sell it for gold, or buy it from other players with gold, so Blizzard runs an official gold-for-money exchange.
minor part of the game - Subscription
A$23.95 for 1 month, A$67.05 for 3, A$124.50 for 6 and A$249.00 for 12 on Blizzard's Australian price list effective 7 February 2025. Without game time, characters stop at level 20.
- Cosmetics
An in-game Shop sells mounts, pets and appearance items for real money, alongside paid services such as character boosts and transfers. A separate Trading Post sells similar cosmetics for Trader's Tender, which subscribers earn each month rather than buy.
minor part of the game - Editions
Midnight is sold as Base, Heroic, Epic and a physical Collector's Edition; the Epic Edition adds beta and 3 days of early access, 30 days of game time and extra cosmetics. Older versions of the game are also offered as 'Classic' servers within the same subscription.
minor part of the game - Expansion
Each expansion is a separate purchase; the current one, Midnight (2 March 2026), raised the level cap to 90 and adds player housing. Launch prices in the US were US$49.99 (Base) to US$89.99 (Epic).
- Try then buy
The Free Trial lets anyone play characters up to level 20 with no time limit, but trading, guilds, mail and the Auction House are switched off and gold is capped.
minor part of the game
Techniques it uses to keep you paying or playing
- Never-ending
An open-ended online world with no ending. It has been continuously updated since 2004, with a new expansion roughly every two years and new content patches in between.
- FOMO timers
The Trading Post changes its stock every month. Blizzard says items return later and lets you 'freeze' an item to buy it later, so the pressure is mild.
minor part of the game - Always online
The game only works while connected to Blizzard's servers; there is no offline mode.
minor part of the game
Fairer alternatives
Similar games with a healthier money model
What it costs
Price: — · A$23.95/month
| What | Where | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month subscription From Blizzard's Australian price notice effective 7 Feb 2025; current shop price not re-checked |
Blizzard (AU) · PC | A$23.95/month | Feb 2025 |
| 3-month subscription Works out at about A$22.35 a month |
Blizzard (AU) · PC | A$67.05 | Feb 2025 |
| 6-month subscription Works out at about A$20.75 a month |
Blizzard (AU) · PC | A$124.50 | Feb 2025 |
| 12-month subscription Works out at about A$20.75 a month |
Blizzard (AU) · PC | A$249/year | Feb 2025 |
| WoW Token Adds 30 days of game time; can be sold to other players for in-game gold |
Blizzard (AU) · PC | A$32 | Feb 2025 |
Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.
Reviews from across the web
What the critics said
-
9/ 10
-
9/ 10
Game Informer
Calls Midnight a strong expansion, praising its story, the new player housing and the reworked older zones, while finding some optional conversations thin.
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84/ 100
-
8/ 10
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4/ 5
GamesRadar+
Says the expansion's storytelling and more varied quests brought their enthusiasm for the game back.
Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.
Age ratings & content
What's in it
Content labels
- Blood & gorestrong
Blood, injuries and body damage on screen.
From ESRB descriptors - Violencemoderate
Fighting, weapons, injury and death, from cartoon bonks to realistic killing.
From ACB, ESRB and PEGI descriptors - Languagemoderate
Swearing and crude language, from the odd 'damn' to frequent strong profanity.
From ESRB and PEGI descriptors - Sex & nuditymild
Sexual references, innuendo, sexualised imagery, nudity and sex scenes.
From ESRB descriptors - Drugs & alcoholmild
References to, or use of, illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
From ESRB descriptors - Mature themesmild
Crime, cruelty, death, suicide and self-harm, discrimination, and crude humour.
From ESRB descriptors
Classification
Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes), summed up in the content labels above. They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the money badges are for. About rating boards
Safety & parental controls
Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?
- Text and voice chat
- Players can interact with strangers
- No user-made content
- Needs an online account
Anyone can talk to your child in public chat channels, by whisper, in groups and in guilds, and voice chat is available in parties and guilds. Many guilds also use Discord outside the game. Blizzard's Battle.net parental controls (set up from the account's settings) can limit daily and weekly play time, send weekly play-time reports and turn in-game purchases on or off. The Free Trial restricts /yell, trading and guilds, and limits whispers to friends.
Who makes it
The company behind it, and its track record
- Workplace misconduct
Workplace misconduct findings
California Civil Rights Department sued Blizzard and its parent in 2021; settled for about $54 million over pay and promotion discrimination claims in December 2023, approved by the court in January 2024; the claims were not adjudicated. - Loot-box action
Loot-box enforcement
Belgian Gaming Commission, April 2018: found Overwatch's paid loot boxes were a game of chance in breach of Belgian gambling law. - Shut down paid games
Shut down games people paid for
Blizzard shut down the servers of the original, paid Overwatch on 2 October 2022, replacing it with free-to-play Overwatch 2.
Latest on the record
- Labour
About 1,900 workers ratified first union contract
Kotaku - Investigation
EU consumer regulators investigated Diablo Immortal spending design
Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) - Other
Blizzard games went offline in mainland China after NetEase deal ended
The Verge
A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records
Platforms & release
Where you can play it
| Platform | Released | Store |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC | 23 November 2004 | Store page |
| Mac | 23 November 2004 | Store page |
Further reading
- Official website
- Blizzard: Australian and NZ price changes for WoW subscriptions and Tokens (Feb 2025)
- Blizzard news: Trading Post and Trader's Tender
- Warcraft Wiki: Free Trial limits
- Wikipedia
Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, us.forums.blizzard.com, warcraft.wiki.gg, warcraft.wiki.gg, news.blizzard.com, opencritic.com, www.metacritic.com, www.esrb.org, pegi.info, www.classification.gov.au, gameinformer.com, eu.support.blizzard.com. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.