Blizzard Sparks World of Warcraft Fan Backlash for 'Breaking Promise' Over Housing Microtransactions

Back when housing was added to World of Warcraft at the beginning of Midnight, Blizzard issued a set of guiding priciples that, among other things, promised that the company wouldn't add cosmetics to the cash store that represent one of Azeroth's races or classes. This week, Blizzard broke that promise.

Blizzard released two housing packs yesterday: the Haunted Grimtide Estate pack with a housing exterior and a pre-built interior, along with the Grimtide Decor Pack, which includes 21 different decorations that you can fill that interior with. The company is charging 2,500 hearthsteel for the Haunted Grimtide Estate pack and 1,000 hearthsteel for the Decor Pack, or $25 and $10, respectively.

It would make sense to have a spooky decor pack ahead of Halloween, but the aesthetics of all of these items looks like they were ripped right from Stormsong Valley and the Kul'Tiran humans that debuted in Battle for Azeroth. …