Blizzard ‘OK’ with new RMT scheme in World of Warcraft

With the recent news that Blizzard will be introducing a new money-trading scheme centred around the Guardian Cub pet, the company has confirmed they are ‘OK’ with the idea that it will offer a new way of acquiring extra in-game gold without turning to third-party gold selling.

Acknowledging this fact on the pet’s FAQ page, Blizzard writes:

“While our goal is to offer players alternative ways to add a Pet Store pet to their collection, we’re OK with it if some players choose to use the Guardian Cub as a safe and secure way to try to acquire a little extra in-game gold without turning to third-party gold-selling services. However, please keep in mind that there’s never any guarantee that someone will purchase what you put up for sale in the auction house, or how much they’ll pay for it. Also, it’s important to note that we take a firm stance against buying gold from outside sources because in most cases, the gold these companies offer has been stolen from compromised accounts. While some players might be able to acquire some extra gold by putting the Guardian Cub in the auction house, that’s preferable to players contributing to the gold-selling ‘black market’ and account theft.”

Blizzard is carrying forward its plan to bring real money transfers to the auction houses of Diablo III, after revealing the game will include real currency auction houses which allow players to buy better gear with real world money.

It’s not particularly surprising Blizzard is slowly pushing real money transfers into WoW. The MMO has had issues with gold farming for years, and adopting this RMT method is a way of combating third-party sites that offer in-game items and gold for money.