World of Warcraft shall be 20 years previous in 2024. After twenty years, one would possibly suppose that gamers of Blizzard’s MMORPG have seen all of it. But 2023 proved that Blizzard nonetheless has loads of concepts in regards to the sport’s future, and if the final yr is any indication, that future definitely appears vivid.
The newest enlargement for the fashionable model of WoW, Dragonflight, launched on the tail-end of 2022 to constructive evaluations, alongside an formidable content material launch roadmap for 2023. The enlargement itself proved to be a well-crafted, return-to-basics affair that the sport sorely wanted after 2020’s extensively disliked Shadowlands enlargement. All that goodwill, nevertheless, might have simply been squandered if Blizzard did not ship on its guarantees to ship extra content material on a extra frequent foundation within the yr forward.
Considering how the discharge schedules for expansions like Warlords of Draenor and Shadowlands went, when six or extra months might go by with none substantial additions to a sport customers pay $15 a month for the privilege to play, I believe it is protected to say many gamers have been skeptical Blizzard might ship on its guarantees. Two main content material updates alongside 4 minor ones over the course of 2023 sounded formidable, to say the least.
Blizzard, fortunately, delivered all that was promised after which some. Every eight weeks or so, there was substantial new content material for gamers to sink their enamel into, whether or not it was long-awaited Heritage Armor quests, new story content material, or new open-world occasions. The sport’s “minor” updates did a lot of the heavy lifting right here, and calling them “minor” truthfully feels prefer it does them a little bit of a disservice, as a lot of Dragonflight’s smaller updates felt extra substantial than some main patches in earlier years.
Not even counting the 2 main content material patches, which added new raids, zones (together with a long-awaited Emerald Dream zone), story quests, and new PvP and Mythic+ seasons, Dragonflight in 2023 acquired the brand new Trading Post characteristic, which is in of itself a significant addition that has modified how gamers play and are rewarded. Heavily anticipated Heritage Armor questlines for Orcs, Humans, Forsaken, and Night Elves all arrived this yr. We additionally acquired the power for extra races to be extra courses, a number of new occasions, updates to the sport’s varied vacation occasions, a never-before-seen assist type DPS specialization, extra story content material, a time-travel targeted megadungeon, a considerable rework for Retribution Paladins, UI enhancements, and extra.
That’s plenty of stuff! Early subsequent yr, the sport’s Seeds of Renewal replace will arrive, and with it the choice to run dungeons with NPC companions and the power to make use of dragonriding throughout everything of Azeroth, as an alternative of solely in Dragonflight’s Dragon Isle zones. Those are each big additions, and options that previously probably would have been saved as a part of a significant content material patch and even an enlargement, and as such would have taken months and even years, relatively than weeks, to reach.
In an interview with GameSpot earlier this yr, WoW government producer Holly Longdale stated the WoW improvement group had basically “reinvented” itself, and alongside the best way modified its definition of “what it means for WoW to be a live-service game.” Based on Activision Blizzard’s earnings reviews, it appears the WoW group’s reinvention has paid off, with Dragonflight boasting greater subscriber-retention numbers when in comparison with different current expansions.
WoW Classic, too, has had an eventful yr. In Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Ulduar and Icecrown Citadel have been each rereleased, giving followers the prospect to relive a number of the sport’s most iconic raids. The sport’s Classic Era servers noticed a resurgence in reputation because of a fan-driven Hardcore mode, the place gamers battled their means by means of Azeroth on a quest to achieve degree 60 with out dying. A one-life permadeath mode turned out to be an effective way to expertise the unique model of WoW and highlighted a lot of what made the sport particular. Blizzard agreed, and in August launched official Hardcore servers, the place shut to three million characters had met their everlasting demise by the tip of October. The mode was a success on Twitch particularly, and even spawned the most important, highest-stakes PvP match within the historical past of WoW within the type of OTK’s $100,000 prize pool Hardcore Mak’gora Tournament.
Normally, the entire above can be an enormous yr for each variations of Blizzard’s flagship title. But 2023 additionally marked BlizzCon’s return as an in-person occasion for the primary time since 2019, and with it, a slew of WoW-related bulletins. Though there have been reveals for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, BlizzCon 2023 was largely devoted to what was subsequent for WoW.
As it seems, lots. WoW Classic gamers have been excited, and initially a bit bit confused, when Longdale took the BlizzCon stage to announce a brand new season of WoW Classic referred to as Season of Discovery was coming earlier than the tip of the yr, one that might flip the old-school model of Blizzard’s MMO on its head with tanking Warlocks and therapeutic Mages. Blizzard would even be re-releasing the sport’s Cataclysm enlargement, citing participant demand for it, in 2024.
Then got here the second followers had been ready for. Chris Metzen, one in every of WoW’s founding fathers who just lately rejoined Blizzard full-time as an government artistic director, took the stage to hype up the group. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the jaws of WoW gamers all over the place hit the ground when Metzen did not simply announce the following WoW enlargement as anticipated, however the subsequent three expansions. Blizzard was making a dedication to a trilogy of expansions referred to as The Worldsoul Saga, one that might inform a bigger story and can be the fruits of lots of the storylines and plot threads which have endured all through WoW’s 20-year historical past. Better but, Metzen pledged Blizzard would do all the things in its energy to launch the expansions extra shortly than followers have been used to, seemingly hinting at the potential of a 18 or 12-month enlargement launch cadence, considerably sooner than the two-year enlargement launch sample Blizzard has used for the reason that sport’s earliest days.
Going into 2024, the always-moving prepare that’s WoW seems like a well-oiled machine for the primary time in a very long time, relatively than a runaway locomotive struggling to remain on the shoddily constructed tracks that have been laid in entrance of it simply moments in the past. The final yr of WoW has proved that Blizzard has what it takes with regards to delivering significant new content material to maintain gamers coming again, and there is nothing to date that leads me to suspect that will not proceed within the yr forward, as is evidenced by Blizzard’s WoW content material roadmap for 2024. It’s a Blizzard that’s extra clear with its plans than ever earlier than, and likewise one which is not afraid to experiment, take heed to participant suggestions, and solid off old-assumptions about what works and what would not.
There have, in fact, been controversies within the final yr. Fans do not appear happy with Blizzard’s determination to promote early entry to an enlargement for the primary time in WoW’s historical past. There have been questions on WoW’s content material improvement pipeline, and the way it can permit for doubtlessly controversial or offensive content material to achieve the sport’s public check realm with seemingly little oversight. In Wrath of the Lich King Classic, the sudden introduction of the controversial WoW Token with no prior warning from Blizzard brought on an uproar among the many neighborhood and served as a reminder that even when Blizzard has largely improved with regards to speaking with followers, it may nonetheless on occassion fail spectacularly. And there are nonetheless issues that Trader’s Tender, the forex used as a part of the sport’s just lately launched Trading Post and which have been initially solely earnable by finishing in-game actions, has turn into simply one other microtransaction because of Blizzard’s determination to supply the forex as a part of varied store bundles and enlargement preorders.
Be that as it might, it appears clear Blizzard is listening–something that in more moderen years hasn’t felt prefer it’s all the time been the case. It’s exhausting to think about the Blizzard of only a few years in the past introducing so many quality-of-life adjustments for many who play a number of characters or the power to run dungeons solo with NPC teammates. It’s equally exhausting to think about the WoW Classic group of 2019, as soon as solely devoted to recreating the sport because it was two-decades-ago, introducing brand-new talents, gadgets, and content material to the 2006-version of the MMO. That’s precisely what has occurred just lately with the launch of Season of Discovery, in some ways turning the old-school model of WoW right into a brand-new expertise. It’s an expertise gamers appear desirous to see unfold over the course of the following yr.
This is all to say that 2023 proved to be among the finest years in WoW’s lengthy historical past. Blizzard delivered incredible new options and evergreen enhancements alongside fascinating new Dragonflight content material at a gradual tempo that saved gamers subscribed and logging in for extra. WoW Classic is at present within the midst of forging a daring new id for itself as properly, with Season of Discovery seeking to breathe new life right into a sport that has till now largely served as an interactive time capsule. WoW shall be 20 subsequent yr, and although it stays to be seen how Blizzard will formally rejoice the event, persevering with to construct on the success of 2023 looks like an awesome place to begin.
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