In brief: In what seems like an experiment to push the boundaries of in-game purchases, Blizzard has rolled out a new mount priced at an eye-watering $90. Even more astonishing, players are scooping it up as if there’s no tomorrow.
Dubbed the Trader’s Gilded Brutosaur, Blizzard has attempted to justify the staggering $90 price tag with a 20th-anniversary harness decorated with gems that “represent World of Warcraft’s expansions.” The mount also includes unique functionality, allowing owners to access both the auction house and their mailbox from the saddle as they traverse Azeroth.
But is this enough to justify a price that eclipses many AAA games? Players on Reddit have plenty to say.
“Between requiring your player base to have to purchase the ‘ultimate edition’ of the new expansion for its early access, subscription fees, and constant ‘upgrade to a 6 month-12 month sub bundle’ messaging, and then releasing this during an anniversary event, I’m getting really tired of my most beloved video game,” wrote user kramjam.
“It genuinely annoys me that they have time to release an insanely overpriced mount when they released one of the buggiest and messy patches I’ve seen in a long while,” wrote another frustrated user, referring to a recent patch that has the entire community up in arms.
Yet some players suggest the mount is a hidden bargain. As several Redditors pointed out, Blizzard previously released a similar mount with Battle for Azeroth in 2018, which required a jaw-dropping five million in-game gold to acquire. This sum could translate to about $500 in game time via WoW tokens or an astonishing $666.67 in cash.
With those figures in mind, $90 almost sounds reasonable. Whether players consciously thought this through before dropping that much cash on an in-game item is another story.
Purchasing this mount has quickly become a trend. Log in, and you’ll see herds of these gilded beasts stampeding through major cities. Numerous screenshots shared on Reddit capture the phenomenon. It appears that, for many, buying the mount is a way to boldly signal, “Yes, I had $90 to spend – and I spent it.”
Amid all the commotion surrounding this mount, one amusing incident has emerged: Blizzard reportedly banned a handful of bots right after they purchased the Brutosaur mount – without offering any refunds.
Blizzard certainly seems to have a knack for monetization. A recent LinkedIn slip-up revealed that their latest cash cow, Diablo IV, has already amassed over $150 million from microtransactions and cosmetic items alone since its release last June.
Image credit: Degenerate_Game
