Blizzard May Be Turning WoW's Trading Post Into An MTX Shop, Suggests New Datamine

gamespot.com:

Instead of earning Trader's Tenders through gameplay, players may soon be able to buy them.

By Cameron Koch on

World of Warcraft's popular Trading Post feature may be turned into a microtransaction store where players can earn cosmetics by purchasing a currency with real money, according to a new datamine.

Blizzard introduced the Trading Post into WoW back in February as a new way for players to earn cosmetics and mounts simply by playing the game. Simply logging in once a month earns players a certain amount of a special currency, called Trader's Tenders, which can be used at the Trading Post to purchase weapon appearances, cloaks, toys, pets, mounts, and more. Each month, Blizzard adds new challenges players can complete to earn even more Trader's Tender. The wares of the Trading Post change each month.

Players have taken well to the Trading Post, as it gives a new way to earn cosmetics and rewards without having to spend real money. Part of the appeal of the feature is that some premium items that were formerly exclusive to the game's microtransaction shop would occasionally be available for purchase with Trader's Tenders, giving players who didn't want to spend real money a way to earn the cosmetics for free through the Trading Post.

Flash forward five months, and it certainly seems like Blizzard is looking to turn the Trading Post into another real-money microtransaction store. A datamine of the game's upcoming patch 10.1.5 update by Wowhead has uncovered in-game shop assets for Trader's Tenders in varying amounts. The implication is that these would be made available for purchase on Battle.net, effectively turning Trader's Tenders into a premium currency players can simply buy with real money.

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