Blizzard takes desperate measures to beautify its player numbers. Good for the players: WoW and Hearthstone fans get hefty bonuses.
Blizzard has been struggling with declining player numbers for years, and this is particularly evident in the quarterly reports. The MAUs (Monthly Active Users) continue to decline. However, Blizzard has a brilliant trick to simply double the numbers in some areas: A WoW subscription now brings Hearthstone players more bonuses than if they were to simply buy these bonuses directly in Hearthstone.
What is it about? Players of World of Warcraft are used to receiving a few additional goodies when they sign up for a 6-month subscription. Not only do you save a few euros compared to the one-month subscription, but for years there has also regularly been a rather stylish mount as a bonus.
Now Blizzard has dug deep into the trick bag and has linked a whole lot of additional rewards for Hearthstone to the WoW subscription. So those who sign up for a 6-month WoW subscription for nearly €65 will receive the following bonuses in Hearthstone:
- Innkeeper’s Pass for the current and upcoming expansion.
- Battlefield bonuses for the current and upcoming expansion.
- 15 card packs of the current expansion.
- 15 card packs of the next expansion.
- 30 Mercenaries packs from the Mercenaries mode.
€140 in Hearthstone – for a €65 subscription in World of Warcraft
The sheer value of these bonuses is completely insane. Anyone who actively plays Hearthstone and spends money there really has to get a WoW subscription, because there’s no better offer. Let’s run the numbers:
- The Innkeeper’s Pass costs €20, which is available for the current and upcoming season, so €40.
- The Battlefield bonuses cost €10, and they are also available for the current and upcoming season, totaling €20.
- 15 card packs of the current expansion cost €20, and they are available for the current and upcoming set, so €40.
- The price of the 30 Mercenary packs is not yet exactly known. But since they also cost 100 gold, they will probably be as expensive as regular packs – that’s another €40.
For a WoW subscription costing €65, you’re getting a value of €140 in Hearthstone. That’s a price so cheap that it has never existed in Hearthstone – and that is crazy.
Why is this a trick? Essentially, the offer is of course a good thing for the individual user. You hardly get card packs, battlefield bonuses, and Innkeeper’s Pass at such a low price otherwise. However, this offer is also quite cleverly devised and a clear move to artificially inflate the MAU numbers for the next report.
Because one must not forget: If a player logs into both World of Warcraft and Hearthstone within a month, they count as 2 monthly active users.
That’s why the timing is also set up so that you are encouraged to log in during 3 different months:
- Right now there are 15 packs for the current expansion “United in Stormwind” (September) in Hearthstone.
- In October, the Mercenaries mode starts, and WoW players can unlock the rat “Sarge” for their WoW account in Hearthstone.
- In December, there will be another 30 packs (15 from the new expansion, 15 for the Mercenaries mode).
The thought behind it is clear: They want to bring Hearthstone players into World of Warcraft and entice WoW players to dive a bit into Hearthstone. Additionally, this way, one easy converts one MAU into 2 MAUs over the span of 3 months. That will certainly look nice in the next quarterly report for the investors.
One should also not forget Diablo from the new Mercenaries mode, which is coming to Hearthstone. Maybe it will catch some Diablo players who then check out Hearthstone – and also increase the MAU numbers.
What should one make of this? Well, everyone has to decide for themselves what they think of this move. From a player’s perspective, the offer is worth it – whether you’re just a Hearthstone player or regularly play both games. Then the value for a 6-month WoW subscription, which additionally grants 60 card packs and around 6 months of all desirable bonuses in Hearthstone, is simply unbeatable. Especially since there’s also a mount in WoW through the subscription and another mount after the release of the Mercenaries mode.
What do you think of this action? A cool thing that benefits you? Or a rather cheap trick to beautify the player numbers?
