I just came across an amazingly handy list of ways that online worlds make money, as compiled by Canadian game developer Adrian Crook. His guide is limited to MMOs which are free to play, so it doesn’t include subscriptions, the standard since 1984, when CompuServe began charging $12 an hour to play Island of Kesmai.As you’ll notice, several MMOs use more than one, and there’s a bit of fudging, for simplicity’s sake. Seen this way, one point jumps out: just 10 million MMO players are paying mandatory subscriptions, while about 27 million players are paying some other way– or not at all. Looking deeper, another point: most of the non-subscription MMOs are aimed at teens and kids, which is why the subscription model is probably on its way out.  Buy cheap wow gold here ,we have cheap wow gold for sale !

While World of Warcraft dominates the subscription model, there’s been a quiet-but-steady movement away from it; now developers employ everything from Subscription Tier (play some for free, subscribe to play more), to Merchandise/Expansion Packs (buy the related toy/game at retail, play online free), to third party advertising (play for free… after these words from our sponsors.) If you want know which revenue model will rule in the next five years, look at the MMOs that 13-17 year olds are playing now, and assume they’ll expect to pay for future worlds in a similar way, when they get their own credit card.  You can buy cheap wow gold here !