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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsNew add-on policy makes selling add-ons against the rules
by Adam Holisky 
Mar 20th 2009 at 6:00PM
According to the policy, add-ons must be free of charge, may not solicit donations, and their code must be completely visible.
This means some leveling mods that charge for their use are now against the rules. Essentially if you develop a mod it has to be released and distributed for free – no charge is acceptable. And for those thinking "well, the developer could just charge for the download service then." Not true.
The complete statement after the break.
"All add-ons must be distributed free of charge. Developers may not create "premium" versions of add-ons with additional for-pay features, charge money to download an add-on, charge for services related to the add-on, or otherwise require some form of monetary compensation to download or access an add-on."
That is pretty specific to not allowing add-on developers to gain any money from the actual add-on. While this does not include revenue from ads on the developer's site, the policy does go on to say that add-on may not include advertisements or solicit donations in-game. They've pretty much covered up every avenue available to make money off the actual code.
The final point on the add-on policy says that Blizzard has the right to disable add-ons as they see fit. I read this in two ways: they reserve the right to disable all add-ons, and they reserve the right to disable certain add-ons. Of course this should be understood given that WoW is their game and they can do pretty much whatever they want with it, but seeing it spelled out is a tad... unnerving.
You can read their full add-on policy below, or head over to their site.
World of Warcraft User Interface Add-On Development Policy
With the continuing popularity of World of Warcraft user interface add-ons (referred to hereafter as "add-ons") created by the community of players, Blizzard Entertainment has formalized design and distribution guidelines for add-ons. These guidelines have been put in place to ensure the integrity of World of Warcraft and to help promote an enjoyable gaming environment for all of our players - failure to abide by them may result in measures up to and including taking formal legal action.
1) Add-ons must be free of charge.
All add-ons must be distributed free of charge. Developers may not create "premium" versions of add-ons with additional for-pay features, charge money to download an add-on, charge for services related to the add-on, or otherwise require some form of monetary compensation to download or access an add-on.
2) Add-on code must be completely visible.
The programming code of an add-on must in no way be hidden or obfuscated, and must be freely accessible to and viewable by the general public.
3) Add-ons must not negatively impact World of Warcraft realms or other players.
Add-ons will perform no function which, in Blizzard Entertainment's sole discretion, negatively impacts the performance of the World of Warcraft realms or otherwise negatively affects the game for other players. For example, this includes but is not limited to excessive use of the chat system, unnecessary loading from the hard disk, and slow frame rates.
4) Add-ons may not include advertisements.
Add-ons may not be used to advertise any goods or services.
5) Add-ons may not solicit donations.
Add-ons may not include requests for donations. We recognize the immense amount of effort and resources that go into developing an add-on; however, such requests should be limited to the add-on website or distribution site and should not appear in the game.
6) Add-ons must not contain offensive or objectionable material.
World of Warcraft has been given a "T" by the ESRB, and similar ratings from other ratings boards around the world. Blizzard Entertainment requires that add-ons not include any material that would not be allowed under these ratings.
7) Add-ons must abide by World of Warcraft ToU and EULA.
All add-ons must follow the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and the World of Warcraft End User License Agreement.
8) Blizzard Entertainment has the right to disable add-on functionality as it sees fit.
To maintain the integrity World of Warcraft and ensure the best possible gaming experience for our players, Blizzard Entertainment reserves the right to disable any add-on functionality within World of Warcraft at its sole discretion.
Edited to clarify a few things.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Economy, Add-Ons
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 10)
Amaxe Mar 20th 2009 10:46PM
I agree about WoWMatrix. So damned convenient, yet I also understand the addon creators don't like it. Wish someone would come up with a program the addon creators could like and also worked like this did.
David Mar 20th 2009 6:08PM
I think this is a nerf for the carbonite guys. I liked their addon, but the "expires" stunt they pulled along with the addware version they put out really turned me off of them. This is probably in response to that. IMHO I think blizzard is protecting itself from ill will directed at the addon makers.
Xerous Mar 20th 2009 6:12PM
Least they still allow devs to ask for donations, just only on their website. I WOULD bet they don't get many through the "Donate" buttons anyways. I like to donate but never from the addon itself.
Sithik Mar 20th 2009 6:12PM
As far as the donation part goes, yes it removes the ability to put a donate ad in-game but if I read it right they can still ask/spam/whateverthehelltheywant in regards to "donations" on the add-ons/distribution website itself.
Al in SoCal Mar 20th 2009 6:17PM
Will this affect wowecon?? I'd love to have their "premium" features free - lol.
Sithik Mar 20th 2009 6:19PM
Worse case scenario Al, alot/some of these mods are guaranteed to be shut down.
I personally would never pay for a mod, I would either rip it from TPB or find another mod that performs the same functions. I would be willing to bet that alot of these developers look at making these mods to a "job" so they feel they should be paid, as soon as that "pay for this mod" is taken away I'm willing to bet they jump ship either with OR without releasing the code to the public to continue on for free.
Kyane Mar 20th 2009 6:21PM
I don't think it will effect wowecon, as IIRC the premium features were contained within the website, not the addon?
brugh Mar 20th 2009 6:42PM
Honestly, I'd have no problem with Blizz Strongarming WoWEcon around a bit.
Whenever you try to get a reading on a value for an item, you have to scroll thru 50-100 illegal private servers to get to your realm as it is.
I'd love to see them smack around ANY addon that is directly working with (especially their website) private servers. Especially if the operators are charging a fee for use of their addon.
Al in SoCal Mar 20th 2009 7:48PM
I didn't mean to imply that I paid for the premium features - I always wanted to have them, but never felt compelled enough to pay for them. I agree that some of them might be shutdown....let's hope not.
ken Mar 20th 2009 6:18PM
Not going to stop any of them imho. They will just charge you for some other service and give you the addon for free.
Anowscar Mar 20th 2009 6:18PM
I find this amusing...considering how much of Blizzards base UI was sto...I mean borrowed from various popular add-ons. Quest tracking, auction house tweaks...etc etc. Blizzard should be compensating these people for the time and effort the put into making Warcraft easier and more fun to play.
Sithik Mar 20th 2009 6:20PM
Why do that when people are willing to make the game better for your company for "free"? :P
Gamer am I Mar 20th 2009 6:23PM
I'll be interested to see how mod developers like Zygor will respond to this. I can't make any conjecture as to how they will, so I won't try.
Frak Mar 20th 2009 6:24PM
Thats really neat but just more BS by Blizz.
Joanna and Zygor have been selling IN GAME leveling guide addons for about a year now.
Nice try Blizz.
Derrill Mar 20th 2009 6:29PM
Why would you pay for a levelling addon?
Jame not good enough for you?
elvendude Mar 20th 2009 6:30PM
What do you mean, nice try? That's exactly what Bliz is trying to stop. For some reason or another (I can think of numerous), Bliz doesn't want for-pay addons. So, they have said that you're not allowed to do it anymore. And please have no doubt that they have the ability to enforce it. They can easily hotfix out any addon they want. Might break some others as well, but...
Also, that's assuming they wish to enforce it. They may very well be releasing this statement because their lawyers told them it's a good idea for liability.
Thomas Prescott Mar 20th 2009 6:37PM
For the record I am a Carbonite user, I paid for the full version of the addon.
Is it worth 15 bucks a year? I say yes. Its a good addon, fully featured. Memory usage is a bit higher then I'd like, but other then that its shaved massive amounts of time off my questing sessions.
People should have the right to charge for their code. Its their property, they can choose how they distribute it. If you don't like this, you can always write your own competing product. The folkes at Carbonite charge less then 2 bucks a month for use of their product, and as far as I know all the information from quests is compiled by the carbonite team themselves, not ripped from a website such as Thottbot or Wowhead (although I could be wrong).
That said, there's no way Blizzard could enforce this regardless of what they say. They could figure out some way of disabling the code used to obscure the source of Carbonite, but I think it would be in vain. People would still figure out ways around stuff, and ultimately if people see something worth its price they'll buy it, simple as that.
Blake Mar 20th 2009 6:41PM
I think you're mistaken - people won't pay for something that constantly breaks.
If I paid $2/month for Carbonite (which I never would, Jame's guides are great), I'd expect it to work. If Blizzard came out, like they just did, and said - you can't charge, I sure as hell wouldn't pay for anything - you're just asking for it to break.
Even if Carbonite continues to charge, why would anyone pay? Blizzard will constantly block Carbonite, Carbonite will then have to re-code to get around the block, and Blizzard will block it again. You'll be paying for an addon that probably won't work 90% of the time. Who in their right mind would pay for that??
Good riddance to the pay addons.
Malkeior Mar 20th 2009 7:01PM
Technically, it's Blizzard's code which they are stringing and constructing.
marv Mar 20th 2009 7:23PM
Its Blizzard's game and they can do what they want. I feel sorry for any addon developer who tries to go up against Blizzard especially after what happened to Glider.