In a new interview with Glixel, World of Warcraft Game Director Ion Hazzikostas opened up about the creation and use of WoW Tokens in the Blizzard ecosystem, especially in light of last week’s expansion of the tokens’ functionality. Hazzikostas said that the demise of Diablo III’s RMT auction house paved the path for WoW Tokens.
“One of the original purposes for the token, and something that it’s served very well, is undercutting the illegal gold selling market that exists within the game,” he noted. “The way that gold is acquired is by compromising the accounts and using various methods that are harmful to players. Anything we can do to make those things harder is a net gain for us.”
Hazzikostas said that only a small segment of World of Warcraft players actually buy or sell tokens: “We were very satisfied with the fact that it was harmless, that it was not having any negative external effects on the economy or the game, and was just making people happier.”
