World of Warcraft adding cash-for-gold exchange via playtime Tokens

Do you have more World of Warcraft gold than cash, and prefer not to think about how many dollars you've poured into subscription fees over the years? Or maybe you have the opposite problem - plenty of cash to throw around, but not enough time to earn piles of gold? Either way, Blizzard has got a deal for you.

A new cash shop item called WoW tokens will soon allow players to boost their current subscription time by 30 days. But here's the interesting part: instead of redeeming it, you can sell it to other players on the Auction House (they can't be traded or otherwise sold). Auction House prices will change to reflect supply and demand, but you'll always get however much gold you were first quoted once it sells.

In other words, it's more or less the same system as EVE's PLEX or WildStar's CREDD. It will be the first legitimate cash-for-gold (and vice versa) exchange in World of Warcraft history, even though the MMO has been plagued by gold farmers and spammers ever since its early days.

Speaking of those economic ne'er-do-wells, this will hopefully slow them down quite a bit. Even if you're a little concerned by the idea of rich players skipping the gold grind by selling tokens, it's tough to argue with shutting up spammers.

Blizzard hasn't said when it will implement WoW Tokens or how much they will cost, but don't expect it to be any less than the standard $15 monthly subscription.