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A WoW character plundering a chest in the new Plunderstorm battle royale game mode
Image via Blizzard Entertaintment
Category:
World of Warcraft

Is WoW Plunderstorm free-to-play?

Break out your coffers.
Image of Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson
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Published: Mar 19, 2024 11:32 am

A new battle royale experience called Plunderstorm has finally come to World of Warcraft, adding a drastically different way of playing the iconic MMORPG.

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Plunderstorm, part of the 10.2.6 content update, is a limited-time game mode that places characters exclusive to the game mode in an Arathi Highlands arena and challenges them to take on opposing players and enemy NPCs while surviving and plundering for as long as they can. Players can loot new and upgraded abilities from different rarities of chests and defeated enemies.

Some of the biggest battle royale titles in the world, including another Activision Blizzard title in Call of Duty: Warzone, are free-to-play titles. But while WoW Plunderstorm is easier to access than other new modern WoW content, it’s not available for everyone.

Is WoW Plunderstorm free-to-play?

WoW Plunderstorm is not a standalone free-to-play game mode; players need an active WoW subscription to be able to play Plunderstorm. But WoW Classic players and returning subscribers who don’t have the latest expansions purchased will be able to play without any problem.

For active WoW subscribers, their time playing Plunderstorm will be rewarding as they can earn cosmetics, pets, titles, and mounts by playing matches, defeating enemies, plundering loot, and, of course, winning. Players don’t have to win their match to earn these rewards.

A pet reward in WoW Plunderstorm
I want him. Image via Blizzard Entertainment

While this might be disappointing for battle royale fans, it’s worth noting that this limited-time event is likely serving as a makeshift test for Blizzard to see if this kind of game mode can attract a large player base. If it’s popular enough, perhaps the devs will eventually spin it off into a separate free-to-play mode, as Activision Blizzard did with Warzone. Blizzard also plans to host an “esports tournament to host Plunderstorm’s launch,” indicating that the developer might have extensive long-term plans for the new mode.

Plunderstorm goes live for a limited time on March 19, once scheduled maintenance concludes around 5pm CT.

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Author
Image of Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson
VALORANT lead staff writer, also covering CS:GO, FPS games, other titles, and the wider esports industry. Watching and writing esports since 2014. Previously wrote for Dexerto, Upcomer, Splyce, and somehow MySpace. Jack of all games, master of none.
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