And I feel fine.

I cancelled my subscription to World of Warcraft just now. Here’s what I told them when they graciously inquired why I was leaving:

I can’t justify the cost of playing anymore. I always felt at a disadvantage in terms of gear, honor, reputation and guild because I was more casual in my approach. At this time the ROI – both monetary and time – doesn’t make sense for me to continue.

They were nice enough to let me know:

Keep in mind that your account and characters are retained indefinitely in case you decide to return. To re-subscribe to World of Warcraft, simply select the “Setup Subscription” button under the Billing Information section on the main Account Management page. You will then be able to enter new payment information and immediately continue your adventures.

So I got that going for me. Which is nice.

I’ll be spending my “free” (ha!) time playing some new games I plan on purchasing. Titles that are less massively-multiplayer and more personal and retro.

World of Goo and Aquaria, both winners at the Independent Games Festival in recent years.

I don’t think I’ll actually have more play time in either of these two games, but the monetary costs are finite and known. I pay for the game itself, I own it, I play as much or as little as I like and I’m done paying. No expansions or internet access required, just pure gameplay.

Now I don’t think that the experiences are comparable. The new two are basically console-type games (a puzzler and a platformer) for the PC whereas WoW is The. Biggest. Game. Ever.

But I’m no raider or PvPer or gold farmer. I found it harder and harder to play casually so I’m out, at least for the time being.

And Blizzard won’t be crying any tears. They got mad Wrath of the Lich King money rolling in. I’m just one suburban dad who would rather play something low-key for 30 minutes while iTunes syncs and Flickr pictures upload instead of jockeying for reputation, gear and a guild five nights a week.

But that’s just me. I’ll still be watching The Guild and reading about the world, I just won’t be playing.