Blizzard just dropped a monetization bombshell on World of Warcraft players. The company's long-awaited Housing feature, coming with the Midnight expansion, will include premium items purchasable only with "Hearthsteel" - a new virtual currency that costs real money. This marks another step in gaming's ongoing shift toward layered monetization, even in subscription-based MMOs that already charge monthly fees.
Blizzard just made World of Warcraft's most requested feature a lot more expensive. The gaming giant announced today that Housing - the player customization system arriving with the Midnight expansion - will include premium items purchasable only with "Hearthsteel," a new virtual currency that costs real money.
The timing couldn't be more loaded. WoW players already shell out $15 monthly for subscriptions, plus the cost of each expansion pack. Now they're looking at a third monetization layer for what many consider core gameplay features. According to Blizzard's developer blog, Hearthsteel will be "only for Housing" and won't affect other in-game systems like the Trading Post or mount collections.
But here's where it gets interesting - WoW already has more than 500 different currencies, creating what PC Gamer calls a "currency problem." The game's economy has become so complex that its main currency, gold, once surpassed the Venezuelan bolivar in real-world value.
Blizzard attempted damage control in its announcement, emphasizing that "the vast majority of Housing items are (and will continue to be) earnable in-game." The company drew parallels to its mount system, noting that over 1,000 mounts can be earned through gameplay while "only a few dozen" require shop purchases.
The move reflects broader shifts across the gaming industry. Free-to-play titles pioneered premium currencies, but subscription games increasingly adopt similar models. popularized V-Bucks in Fortnite, while uses Riot Points across multiple titles. Now even premium MMOs are testing these waters.
