StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty is considered one of the best real-time strategy games. Nevertheless, the game is said to have earned less overall than a single microtransaction in World of Warcraft, according to a former employee of Blizzard.
Who says that? Jason T. Hall is a former Blizzard employee who is now active as an indie developer and streams on Twitch. There, he shares insights from his time at Blizzard and in the gaming industry in general.
In a recent stream, Hall revealed why microtransactions are not going to just disappear from gaming.
Hall says fools will always buy the microtransactions
What is this story about? During his time at Blizzard, Jason Hall worked on StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty among other projects. He describes the time working on the real-time strategy game as “a downright terrible time.”
- They had worked almost daily overtime for 2 years
- Sometimes employees worked 6 days a week, sometimes 10 hours a day
- Some employees had left the company
- Even marriages had broken up due to the many overtime hours
At least the game, which is still considered one of the best of its kind even 13 years after its release, has performed well. However, for those who think StarCraft 2 made a ton of money, Hall has a nasty surprise: A single microtransaction in World of Warcraft is said to have generated more revenue.
We have embedded the clip for you here:
Translation:
That’s the saddest thing about the whole situation, dude. I worked through overtime for StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty for 2 years. […] There is a mount in World of Warcraft, the first mount that we called “Glitter Pony”. It cost $15, I think. This mount made more money than StarCraft 2. After all expenses, it made more money.
Hall uses this comparison to make it clear to viewers that microtransactions are not going to disappear: They simply generate too much money for too little effort. Once you have a framework in place to deliver microtransactions, it’s like printing money.
“You wonder why these companies offer microtransactions? Because the fools keep buying them,” Hall said.
Which mount is it about? It seems to be the Celestial Steed, which was introduced on April 15, 2010. It was the first mount that could be purchased directly from Blizzard and sparked a lot of discussion in the community – also seen in the comments on our GameStar colleagues.
Although the Celestial Steed cost $25 (20 €) at its launch and not $15, Hall admits that he is not quite sure about the price.
How much money did the ‘Glitter Pony’ make? The exact earnings are not known for either the game or the mount. However, it should be noted that Wings of Liberty sold over 1.5 million copies in its first two days. In 2012, two years after its launch, it surpassed the 6 million mark. However, it will also have been much more expensive than the Celestial Steed.
Since 2017, WoL has been free to play, and in 2020, Blizzard ceased development of new content. Thus, fans still hope that there might someday be a StarCraft 3:
