There won't be an expansion. Doing so with maps would risk dividing their playerbase, which isn't viable given that their server maintenance costs etc. are covered by loot boxes...and the more divided the player base gets, the longer queues take, and the less likely people are to play, and thus less boxes will be sold.In post 807, xRECKONERx wrote:Over/Under on the first full "expansion" to the game, and what it will contain?
I'm guessing it gets announced late this year with a 2018 release date. In order to charge ~$40 for it (which I'm assuming is what it'll be based on Blizzard's expansion model in other games), it would need to have a sizable amount of content.
My guess is that would need about 8 new heroes... maybe 3 maps? I dunno, it would have to be sizable, but Blizz is gonna have to do SOMETHING to fund future development.
The other alternative, of ONLY having heroes behind a pay wall brings up complaints that 1) they're making the game pay to win, and/or 2) the new heroes aren't worth purchasing. It basically takes all the hype and income they can get from simply putting out new heroes with all sorts of cosmetics that people will want and will thus buy loot boxes for, and transfers it into them making an up front payment and bitching about it as necessary balance changes are rolled out.
Regarding the idea that sales of cosmetic items in a gambling system won't be sufficient to fund further development: First, at a certain critical mass of players the addictive nature of such gambling systems will reach enough potential pockets to keep things funded. I don't know what that critical mass is or if they're reached it, but both completionists and those who simply desire the rush of acquiring that rare drop will definitely spend a LOT of money on boxes. Second, the OWL is a clear move to get ahead of any such issues, by creating a professional marketing arm of Blizzard positioned to maximize return on game development and maintenance by allowing them to tap into further revenue streams from advertisers/sponsors. For Starcraft and Starcraft 2, for example, there were/are organizations that aren't Blizzard and which turn a profit through creating tournaments. Blizzard seeks to ensure that the majority of such income will end up in their hands.
just noting that I disagree that the nade change isn't important.
