World of Warcraft celebrates its 20th anniversary by selling a $90 version of a mount that cost $475 around 6 years ago, knocking the MMO’s economy sideways

As part of World of Warcraft’s 20th anniversary celebrations, Blizzard is selling a $90 version of a mount that would have cost you $475 around six years ago – and it’s causing a bit of a scene.

Some MMO history to start: Back in 2018, with the launch of the Battle for Azeroth expansion, we got the colossal Reins of the Mighty Caravan Brutosaur mount. He’s big, he’s beautiful, and he cost five million in gold from vendors, which amounted to $475 in real-world value at the time, give or take.

Aside from being an absolute unit, our Brutosaur friend sets itself apart from other mounts as it can house two NPC vendors selling goods or repairing weapons and armor. Or, more interestingly, give players remote access to the MMO’s Auction House and save you a jaunt back to Stormwind or Orgrimmar – a bit of a financial flex, but still a vibe to see a Brutosaur stomp about.

Regardless, as Battle of Azeroth gave way to Shadowlands in late 2020, the Brutosaur could no longer be purchased from vendors. The mount does appear on the Black Market Auction House here and there, though the price starts at five million gold, and, uh, that’s a bit of coin. Just before the new version of the Brutosaur mount dropped, one player seemingly bid 9,999,999 gold for the old one. A bit of coin!

Now, World of Warcraft fans can get the next best thing. Blizzard has introduced and is selling the Trader’s Gilded Brutosaur mount as part of the MMO’s 20th-anniversary celebrations for $90 bucks. The big brute essentially does the same thing as its Brutosaur bro but is seemingly smaller and rather fashionably adorned in gold plating to mark the occasion. As this WoW mount is here for the anniversary celebrations, you only have until January 6, 2025 to pick one up.

The reaction among the MMO community has been mixed. On the one hand, $90 bucks is a lot! But on the other hand, it’s certainly a lot less than $475.

Blizzard may have just hit the jackpot. from r/wow

Regardless, the new Brutosaur mount is proving its popularity quickly. So much so that World of Warcraft’s in-game economy is feeling the sting. One way of getting the mount is simply parting with $90, but there is another way. If you’ve got the gold, you can purchase WoW Tokens at the Auction House, which can then be redeemed for $15 in Battle.net store credit. In theory, six WoW Tokens should be enough to get the new Brutosaur mount, but it’s proving not so simple. The gold cost of a WoW Token is forever in flux, and, well, there’s a new Brutosaur mount, so the WoW Token is currently sold out.

Is a World of Warcraft mount being more expensive than the MMO’s latest expansion great? No. Is that going to stop me from joining the Brutosaur bros? Also no.

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