That's the case with The Old Republic, which offers a subscription option but is otherwise microtransaction-based. This is the case from November of 2012 when The Old Republic was changed to a no-cost model after struggling to keep its players in the WoW cataclysm Gold game in its previous version of a subscription-only game. EA stated in May that revenue for the game increased by a third following the switch.

The amount of money that MMOs receive from microtransactions has increased by 14 to 27, over the past five years, according to the report continues. (The graphic above illustrates the way that this is linked to the decline in revenue from subscriptions.) The average digital spending is also increasing across the world over the same time period, increasing up from $36 to $44.

We've witnessed two prominent subscription-based MMO launch this year: The Elder Scrolls Online (April) and WildStar (June). Since WildStar offers players who purchase the game a month free of subscription however, it's not clear the size of the audience it'll be able to keep. Typically subscription-based MMOs have a tendency to lose a part of their users following the first month, when players decide not renewing their memberships. ESO however is holding on to 772,374 subscribers in June according SuperData. When assessing MMOs the numbers may appear unprofessional when compared to WoW's latest subscription numbers--7.6 million at the time of March 31, but it's actually quite a high number.

Blizzard President Says Studio Will Do Better to Create "More Diverse Heroes"

As a response to user's letter complaining about a absence of diversity in Blizzard's games, such as promotional materials in the game buy WoW Cataclysm Classic Gold: Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard tainment president Mike Morhaime has reacted (via WoW Insider) by saying that Blizzard will work better in the near future to make "more different heroes."