Furbs ... with all due respect ... but are you really thinking this MMO idea is Luthier's? If so then ROFL.
I think this is the "money men" - as you call them - who have produced that idea from the depths of their collective ideas hat. 1C even installed a dedicated "online services department" (not just for this MMO but in general) so I guess this is a corporation-wide trend to develop such products.