Stefan Mileschin

In an effort to hold on to players whose interest in their seven-year-old MMO might finally be waning, Blizzard’s promising a free digital copy of Diablo III to anyone who signs up for the World of Warcraft Annual Pass.

Announced yesterday at BlizzCon, the Annual Pass is a twelfth-month subscription payable in monthly installments of $14.99 or by another billing plan of your choosing. Annual Pass subscribers will also get a fancy new flying mount when the next patch drops and access to the Beta for the next WoW expansion. That next expansion? The Mists of Pandaria, an April Fools’ joke-turned-actual thing that will bring panda monks to Azeroth.

Blizzard’s doing everything they can to keep WoW fresh and interesting in the face of lagging subscription numbers. It’s clear that this is another act of retention, as the promotion only applies to current WoW players. Accounts opened after October 18, 2011 are not eligible to receive the benefits of the Annual Pass. Subscribers will also not be able to cancel their account until the twelfth months are up.

More information on how to sign up and what exactly you’ll get can be found at the link below.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5003/g...w-subscription