Recently, Blizzard was forced into the decision of delaying their highly anticipated expansion for their titanic MMORPG. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands was officially delayed yesterday, with no exact release date known now.
In response, fans have been unhappy, to say the least. Many have taken to social media or the game itself to shout and demand refunds, saying that they expected to see the game released by the time that they were given.
Responding, Blizzard made themselves clear – take your money back, if you feel so tempted.
“During this additional time, we’ll be focusing on further polishing the overall experience, as well as fine-tuning and balancing aspects of the endgame – helping ensure that what’s waiting for you on your journey into the Shadowlands meets our high standards and your high expectations,” Blizzard wrote in an email to those that had preordered the title.
“We think you’ll enjoy this expansion even more as a result of the extra work, but we understand if you’re disappointed by the wait. If you’d prefer a refund, please visit our customer support site.”
It’s certainly everyone’s call on whether they get a refund or not, and should be chosen personally, but it seems a bit silly to refund the game unless one intends to quit. While it’s good to have the option, there isn’t much of a point to refund it now and buy it when it releases in a month or two.
Blizzard also doesn’t mention what would happen to players who have the awards from preordering. If one gets a refund, is their account going to be downgraded to no longer be the Shadowlands preorder status?
One would assume so, but this could be troublesome for those players that have already made an Allied Race Death Knight, or earned their Vestments of the Eternal Traveler armor set. Make sure you don’t suddenly lose access to your favorite content by getting a refund!
While the delay is certainly unfortunate, refunding the expansion at this point seems like it wouldn’t quite be the wisest move for someone who still intends to play during Shadowlands. Still, if one wanted to refund it as a moment of protest, now would be the time.
Either way, the developers seem confident that they can get the expansion out before the year’s end. Whether you take Blizzard’s offer to refund or not, it shouldn’t be too much longer before we’re adventuring through the Shadowlands.
