Regardless, they have the potential to make a lot of money with this system. Though I don't think giving the game away for free would really increase their revenues any, as anyone who would be motivated enough to play the game and pay real money for the items would probably be motivated enough to spend $50 on the game to begin with regardless. I doubt many/any of the extra players they manage to get by giving the game away for free would contribute to their AH profits.