Possible addon business models
by Mike Schramm 
Mar 24th 2009 at 3:30PM
Ever since that new addon policy came to light, some addon devs are furious, and threatening to stop publishing their addons completely. But others are being a little more optimistic -- instead of shutting down their addons, they're trying to figure out new ways around Blizzard's rules in order to get compensated for their work. selenite on WoW LJ has one such idea: he suggests a method of "ransomware," where the creators of a mod ask for donations (on their sites, not in-game, as that's against the new policy) and set a goal before they release a new version. BRK had a good point on last week's podcast as well -- he suggested that, like the popular WoW Web Stats, some addons (Recount was one suggestion that came up) can offer information out of game rather than in-game, thus making them able to charge for it, or show advertising on it.Now, some may say that even these types of models will still go against Blizzard's rules (in fact, the rule that says addons may not charge for distribution also hints that they may not charge for "services related", either), but at this point, we don't really know what these rules mean, since, as far as we know, Blizzard hasn't actually shut down any addons. Blizzard may be trying to say that any attempt to make money off of an addon will get it shut down in the game (a strong statement, since you'd think anyone putting time and work into an addon should get something back for it). And if they really do have issues with people who help players play the game making money off of it, what about sites like Wowhead? What about us here at WoW Insider?
At any rate, the ideas are out there. If developers really want to get something back for their work, and they have an addon or an idea that's worth paying for (keep in mind that competition is always there -- if an addon like Recount does charge to go visit another site and get DPS meters, they'll have to make sure it's worth paying that amount rather than just using a free addon), there will probably be a way for them to get compensated.
Filed under: Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Add-Ons
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Riz Mar 24th 2009 3:36PM
Bli$$ard:
gimme
gimme
gimme
gimme moar
Hone Melgren Mar 26th 2009 5:13AM
@5 Alan
Wouldn't the fact that a for-pay-addon gives someone an advantage in PVP be incentive for someone somewhere to reverse engineer said paid addon and a free alternative to be released ?
Free addons and for-pay addons use the same API after all.
jpsona Mar 26th 2009 11:58AM
Isn't that what the add-on developers are saying too?
ahac Mar 24th 2009 3:40PM
I don't think they have problems with people making money.
But if you can buy an addon that gives you advantage over other players.... well.. that isn't that much different from buying gold.
Sumitra Mar 24th 2009 3:45PM
That point is really irrelevant.
Addons cannot give you nearly the advantage that a faster computer or better internet connection can already buy you for more money. Players have never been equal.
Not to mention that any programming API that is available to a paid addon is available to free addons as well. Addons for pay merely differentiate in quality and quantity of the work put into them, not any inherent advantage.
Torlaz Mar 24th 2009 4:03PM
I can't see there being any add-ons that give you an advantage over other players. These are addons which play by the rules of the internal api.
If the fact is that if it is only a monetary advantage, there are usually many free equivalents of different parts of any given mod. You can combine them to get the same effect.
Using paid mods is nothing like gold buying. It just guarantees that the mod is well maintained/ updated for current patch.
If all the author has to look forward to is complaints and requests for updates with no incentive or getting something back for their hard work.
Blizzard should create their own release license, authors registering their mods with the Blizzard license would be able to accept donations/payments for their work. The authors would need to follow certain legal requirements of the license to ensure compliance.
Alan Mar 25th 2009 11:04AM
I would disagree with the idea that these addons don't give players an advantage. In PVE terms, most addons reduce the amount of time and effort needed to do things that you could otherwise do manually (finding quest objectives, comparing AH prices, looking up boss drops, etc.). Given that you can pretty much accomplish anything in PVE given enough time, I can see addons giving players an advantage over others.
In terms of PVP, isn't it much easier to heal party members with a modded UI than without? That's a glaring advantage.
Jason Mar 24th 2009 3:44PM
What about sites like this one and WoWhead? Are they not using Blizzards hard work to make a buck? What really is the difference between an Add-On and WoWhead? Both are not owned by Blizzard and yet use Blizzards supplied material to make money? To me, WoWhead is worse since they actaully make real money and not little tips to keep the website up.
Marc Sadowski Mar 24th 2009 4:07PM
You, sir, just took the words right out of my mouth!
humperdinck Mar 24th 2009 5:45PM
WowInsider is neither charging you to read this blog nor nagging you with in-game ads or solicitations for money.
countjim Mar 24th 2009 7:28PM
The problem with that thinking is that wowhead, wowinsider, etc., do not require the game to be used. If the game goes down, people can still come here. Can you use an addon in any other way BUT ingame? No...and profiteers are making money from it. Big difference between a website or something like vent/teamspeak and addons.
That being said, there is a large, justified and accepted way to deal with this rule of addons and profits...just donate to the addons you use. They never have to ask, and still get compensated for their hard work, can pay for bandwidth and webspace to host the files and you can give some appreciation for something that you use daily.
Seaborn Mar 25th 2009 11:07AM
Blizzard is like Obama. If you think I am wrong in saying that, basically you agree with what Blizzard is doing. Think about it.
mbw Mar 24th 2009 3:58PM
I posted this in another WoW insider article discussing this topic so I"ll repeat it here:
My idea to fix this issue:
1. Blizzard adds a pricing model for accounts using addons. It might be an extra $1 per month per account, or $10 anually per account. Something small enough that people would whine about it at first (as usual), but a month later nobody would really care.
2. Addon developers register their addons with blizzard so that blizz can keep a tally of what addons are available and with step 1, could keep track of who is using what addon in-game.
3. Addon developers get the money generated from step 1 based off how many users are using that addon. In other words, the developers for really popular addons (auctioneer, quest helper, recount, atlas loot, etc) would get the most money.
This way addon developers don't have to take the time (and ultimately money) to set up donation requests both on their sites and in-game - blizzard does all the work, addon developers get paid, and people using the addon pay a VERY SMALL monthly or yearly fee instead of MOOCHING off the addon developers.
I for one wouldn't mind this pricing model. I'm very grateful for the mods I use and would hate to see them go away, yet I've never donated a single penny to the cause.
Rihlsul Mar 24th 2009 4:40PM
Hua... .that's... like an intelligent response to a post.
Sir, I like your moxy! (And your idea.)
Eisengel Mar 24th 2009 4:56PM
I like what your model is attempting, however the problem is one of starvation. If this happened, then it would be in any addon-maker's advantage to make their addon take up as much of of the share as possible. You'd start to see mega-addons (why download and separately maintain Blork, Flaffle and Gabing when you can use my addon that gives you all of them at once!) and poorly-made mashups that would try to gobble up more and more of the market. I think in general this would make for a lot of very bad addons.
This could also choke out new people. Since they just don't have the name visibility and current capital intake that a big-name addon would have, they would be discouraged against putting any real time into their addon to make it good, since they're competing with people have have possibly millions of subscribers and substantial cash coming in to support development.
Not to mention the fact that addons could become big money overnight. Even a thin slice of 11 million WoW subscriptions is some huge cash if all you have to do is keep a popular addon updated. People would immediately try to obfuscate their addon code and a lot of helpful mod sites would likely close their doors. Since there would be actual money on the line, fewer people would be likely hand out coding tips, especially those people with the best addons, who arguably are the ones that know the best coding practices.
I like the spirit in which your idea came about, but I think offering actual money paid from WoW user subscriptions based on popularity may be a very bad thing to do for the addon community. However, please do keep making suggestions, we may just come up with something.
konoo Mar 24th 2009 5:20PM
I love this idea, Hell Blizz could even turn it into a profit center and split the profits with the authors 50/50. Lets give blizz a reason to make it happen.
JDM Mar 25th 2009 9:03AM
As an addon author myself, I must say this is horrible. Why would I pay an extra $10/month to have the right to use the addons I created myself?
No, I like the wide-open situation we have now in which I can use, edit and distribute my addons free of charge.
Dude Mar 24th 2009 4:00PM
Blizz: All your bitches and mone$ r belong to us
PopeJamal Mar 24th 2009 4:03PM
"(a strong statement, since you'd think anyone putting time and work into an addon should get something back for it)"
You know, I know people who put quite a bit of time and effort into stealing shit and just generally cheating their way out of everything. I mean they put ALOT of work into it. Hours of discussion, plans, all that stuff. Does that mean that they have the "right" to "get something back for it"?
Just because YOU decide to do something:
-Doesn't mean it has value
-Doesn't mean it's a valuable as YOU think it is
-Doesn't entitle you to anything other than saying "Look what I did!"
Jesus Christ. I swear to God, sometimes this place is a cesspool of stupidity...
RGnome Mar 24th 2009 4:53PM
The original statement said directly "putting time and work into an addon". That's an ADDON. It's not ambiguously stating anyone putting effort towards anything should be rewarded for whatever it is they are doing.
No where in the article does it suggest every addon is worthy of monetary reimbursement. In fact the very last statement ( "if an addon like Recount does charge to go visit another site and get DPS meters, they'll have to make sure it's worth paying that amount rather than just using a free addon") suggests that the author does believe a level of service and quality is required to sustain any addon that would ask it's users pay or donate to continue releasing new versions.
This article is about a blanket statement by blizzard regarding donation policies that are severely limiting every addon developers possible revenue streams. It is not about some kid in a basement looking to monetize and exploit an idea to make all frames a bright green because he finds it aesthetically pleasing.
Surely you can admit that hundreds of hours of code time put into a tool that thousands of people use daily deserves some sort of compensation.