"For Blizzard, it makes sense to allow players to play for free at some point WoTLK Gold," Chilton said. "But there's a lot of risk is in making that change. We hear about developers going free-to-play , and receiving twice the amount of players but you don't realize that it happens the way it is and how long it stays in that manner. We don't really know what the exact rate will be before people get bored and drop off."
World of Warcraft is the most popular subscription-based MMO game currently available. It first launched in 2004. and was home to 7.7 million players as of June 30.
In the interview Chilton said the casual-themed Mists of Pandaria expansion for World of Warcraft, released in September 2012. has been "very effective" for Blizzard entertainment. The game would have been less successful if Blizzard had not released it, Chilton said.
He acknowledged that some fans were concerned about the expansion being something that was a departure away from World of Warcraft 's roots But he said it was needed to grow and expand the game.
"People who have played Vanilla always say 'if it had been different, I would have the same pleasure now as I did in the past.' However, that's not the case. The audience always changes," Chilton said.
World of Warcraft 's next major update, Siege of Orgrimmar, will be released on September 10.
BlizzCon 2018. the Blizzard's massive annual convention, is returning at the beginning of November. The company has revealed BlizzCon 2018's dates for November 2 and 3 at Anaheim Convention C. Anaheim Convention C. Blizzard has also announced schedule for BlizzCon Opening Week to kick off various rounds of esports competition for StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm, and World of Warcraft . In the very first year ever, they offer a small number of tickets to buy WoTLK Classic Gold Opening Week events too.