New add-on policy makes selling add-ons against the rules
by Adam Holisky 
Mar 20th 2009 at 6:00PM
According to the policy, add-ons must be free of charge, may not solicit donations, and their code must be completely visible.
This means some leveling mods that charge for their use are now against the rules. Essentially if you develop a mod it has to be released and distributed for free – no charge is acceptable. And for those thinking "well, the developer could just charge for the download service then." Not true.
The complete statement after the break.
"All add-ons must be distributed free of charge. Developers may not create "premium" versions of add-ons with additional for-pay features, charge money to download an add-on, charge for services related to the add-on, or otherwise require some form of monetary compensation to download or access an add-on."
That is pretty specific to not allowing add-on developers to gain any money from the actual add-on. While this does not include revenue from ads on the developer's site, the policy does go on to say that add-on may not include advertisements or solicit donations in-game. They've pretty much covered up every avenue available to make money off the actual code.
The final point on the add-on policy says that Blizzard has the right to disable add-ons as they see fit. I read this in two ways: they reserve the right to disable all add-ons, and they reserve the right to disable certain add-ons. Of course this should be understood given that WoW is their game and they can do pretty much whatever they want with it, but seeing it spelled out is a tad... unnerving.
You can read their full add-on policy below, or head over to their site.
World of Warcraft User Interface Add-On Development Policy
With the continuing popularity of World of Warcraft user interface add-ons (referred to hereafter as "add-ons") created by the community of players, Blizzard Entertainment has formalized design and distribution guidelines for add-ons. These guidelines have been put in place to ensure the integrity of World of Warcraft and to help promote an enjoyable gaming environment for all of our players - failure to abide by them may result in measures up to and including taking formal legal action.
1) Add-ons must be free of charge.
All add-ons must be distributed free of charge. Developers may not create "premium" versions of add-ons with additional for-pay features, charge money to download an add-on, charge for services related to the add-on, or otherwise require some form of monetary compensation to download or access an add-on.
2) Add-on code must be completely visible.
The programming code of an add-on must in no way be hidden or obfuscated, and must be freely accessible to and viewable by the general public.
3) Add-ons must not negatively impact World of Warcraft realms or other players.
Add-ons will perform no function which, in Blizzard Entertainment's sole discretion, negatively impacts the performance of the World of Warcraft realms or otherwise negatively affects the game for other players. For example, this includes but is not limited to excessive use of the chat system, unnecessary loading from the hard disk, and slow frame rates.
4) Add-ons may not include advertisements.
Add-ons may not be used to advertise any goods or services.
5) Add-ons may not solicit donations.
Add-ons may not include requests for donations. We recognize the immense amount of effort and resources that go into developing an add-on; however, such requests should be limited to the add-on website or distribution site and should not appear in the game.
6) Add-ons must not contain offensive or objectionable material.
World of Warcraft has been given a "T" by the ESRB, and similar ratings from other ratings boards around the world. Blizzard Entertainment requires that add-ons not include any material that would not be allowed under these ratings.
7) Add-ons must abide by World of Warcraft ToU and EULA.
All add-ons must follow the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and the World of Warcraft End User License Agreement.
8) Blizzard Entertainment has the right to disable add-on functionality as it sees fit.
To maintain the integrity World of Warcraft and ensure the best possible gaming experience for our players, Blizzard Entertainment reserves the right to disable any add-on functionality within World of Warcraft at its sole discretion.
Edited to clarify a few things.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, News items, Economy, AddOns
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 10)
Warren Mar 21st 2009 12:26AM
I love this one. I just reinstall it when it expires. I hope it stays.
Zaniac Mar 21st 2009 1:57AM
Quote:
"Hold up's epic post was epic =)"
Not really.
Hold implied the reason for this being greed on the part of Blizzard. In that, they wanted to charge for the same features, that add-ons currently supply for free, or for donations.
That's just conspiracy theory crap.
This has to do with how most people are stupid, and if they experience anything that looks like "extra hidden payments", they will blame/rage at the company behind the product.
In essence, Blizzard is protecting themselves from giving people a bad experience with the game, because of something someone else did, that they had no control over.
Example:
Stupid person downloads an add-on that has a feature he really likes, and plays with that long enough to get used to it. The add-on programmer then switches to a pay-to-use philosophy. Stupid person doesn't want to play without the add-on, as he's gotten so used to it, and doesn't want to have to pay even more to play the game, so he does what stupid people does.
He thinks: "Stupid game!" and cancels his account.
soosia Mar 21st 2009 10:50AM
Honestly, I hope the Carbonite maker quits after hearing this. Putting advertisements in an addon and requesting people pay for the version that isn't broken = failure.
I am happy blizzard did this. Take it to 'back in the day' where people would write code because it was fun and useful, and maybe to score some recognition and have people use their product. Now everyone just wants to turn into the next Bill Gates.
Ben Striegel Mar 21st 2009 4:07PM
There's another reason that Blizz is doing this that I haven't seen mentioned yet. Is anyone here familiar with a certain very popular model of Asian MMORPGs? Read the article behind this link, everyone here should find it fascinating and more than a little scary:
http://www.danwei.org/electronic_games/gambling_your_life_away_in_zt.php
Games like these allow players to pay real-world money for in-game advantages over players. The fact of the matter is that if an add-on provided no advantage, then you wouldn't use it. Imagine for a moment the add-ons that you absolutely couldn't live without. What if the devs started charging $1 a month for them? Would you pay for it? What if it cost $50 or $100 a month? What if your guild required you to have these add-ons to participate in raids? What if every hardcore guild required these add-ons? Anyone who chooses not to pay is effectively being denied the ability to compete in a world that is designed to reward you not on how many dollars you own, but in how much time you invest. There isn't intended to be a tradeoff, which is the reason why buying gold is outlawed, not because Blizzard is trying to oppress the gold farmers but because keeping their customers happy means keeping the playing field level.
Again, this isn't the only reason. I'm also not trying to exonerate Blizzard, as they're definitely in it for the money, which is fine. They've made a decent product and deserve to profit from it as much as they can while satisfying their customers. Remember, you only play the game because they let you, and they only make the game because you let them.
dawnseven Mar 23rd 2009 11:29AM
"I'm pretty sure it only does that when someone you group with or otherwise engage with has a newer version of the addon than you do. There are several addons that do this and it is without installing any kind of spyware."
I think one of those is/was Omen. :D I haven't noticed it in quite some time so maybe they took it out, but back when our guild was running Kara I used to always be informed by Omen that a guildie who was obsessive about updating his addons had a new version than I did.
Wueel Mar 20th 2009 6:06PM
I'm curious as to how add-ons like QuestHelper and Carbonite will react to this. Very interesting; we'll see.
elvendude Mar 20th 2009 6:18PM
QuestHelper is free...I don't see why this would affect it at all.
Ryan Mar 20th 2009 6:42PM
QuestHelper asks for donations in-game, that would have to be removed.
McRaider Mar 20th 2009 7:11PM
I guess a new version will be on it's way after the creator hears about this. QH is a quite popular addon amongst the newbies
Toclafane Mar 20th 2009 8:44PM
People who use QH suck - questing is hardly rocket science. I levelled my priest from 70-80 in no time at all, as holy. Seriously, how easy does Blizz need to make it?
Nick Mar 20th 2009 6:06PM
So does this mean I have to uninstall Zygor's Leveling Guide?
See, I never actually 'paid' for it, but it's still a paid addon.
Vassal Mar 20th 2009 6:08PM
That means it won't get an update, so stealing it is just a moral detriment.
You're good.
Erogroth Mar 20th 2009 6:52PM
This is a quote from Zygor himself:
"Those policy guidelines are nothing new, they've always been there. Besides, we do not charge for our addons. When you purchase our products, you are purchasing the information and our time to provide the information. The addons we've built are simply our method of providing that information to you, they are free with our service.
At any rate, whatever must be done will be done and we, Zygor Guides, will continue to work hard to provide you with the best guides possible."
Now will Blizz see it that way? I don't know.
chad Mar 20th 2009 8:14PM
Zygor has absolutely no clue what is going on. I'm not familiar with the policy prior to the additions, however every source I've read states the 'no charge' portion is new.
What he said is nothing more than semantics. You can't download the addon without purchasing the product, so the addon is part of the package.
Adam Holisky Mar 20th 2009 8:14PM
I wonder if he's read this updated policy or not. To me, it reads pretty clearly that his paradigm is going to need to shift in order to become complaint with the rules.
JDM Mar 21st 2009 9:10AM
@Zygor quote:
Unfortunately, you can't charge for those services either, according to rule #1.
SaintStryfe Mar 20th 2009 6:07PM
Sounds reasonable. Maybe some of those high-end for-fee add ons that help you level fast might become freely available now.
I don't fully agree with the "you can't soliciate donations" part. I think that's not distracting. I think Blizz could edit it to say where it could be. No pop up windows begging, but they could put a line around the GMOTD.
Amaxe Mar 20th 2009 7:07PM
Well, I think the issue is that Blizz does not want any group profiting off of WoW. It's their game and they have rights to it.
Now i am sure that "donations" are just to help support and develop the addons and not to do something like Glider, but since it is still money for a service related to WoW playing, Blizz may see it as an infringement
SaintStryfe Mar 20th 2009 7:33PM
my thing is I usually fine most people asking for donations in relation to a Add-on aren't doing it for profit, but just for incuring costs, like bandwidth.
I'd love to see Blizz offer a WowMatrix-like service where they host the add ons. I feel bad using WoWMatrix because people don't get the revenue, but it's so bloody convenient.
Nonny Mar 20th 2009 7:43PM
Thing is, the only one I'm aware of that's "premium" is Carbonite... but the base quest tracking system is part of the free version. Their "premium" features are just bells and whistles -- things that might be convenient or nifty, but not absolutely necessary to the function of the mod.