The year is 2021. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has been out for nearly a year. It has had one content update. One. Every other game in the big five has managed to put out multiple content updates in that timeframe or is currently preparing for an expansion in the very near future. Blizzard Entertainment is mired in an ongoing sexual harassment scandal. So it is a masterful reading of the room that the studio has now released a cash shop mount for players to purchase.
It is $25.
Here are the nice things you can say about the mount: It is a very cute gigantic cat. We approve of the work the art and sound teams did for this adorable creature.
Here is the problem: This is a mount being sold for $25 in the cash shop of a game that has a subscription fee and cannot successfully put out more than one major patch for the game over the course of a year. There is currently no information about when the next actual content update for the main retail game will arrive; the next scheduled patch contains customization options after Blizzard had previously announced no further customization options would be added, but no new content. Activision-Blizzard is worth approximately $60 billion dollars.
Is it a coincidence that this is going on sale shortly before the investor call on November 2nd? You decide.
