BlizzCon Interview with IGN - The Future of Warcraft

Live Posted 2023/11/26 at 12:27 PM by Archimtiros

video interview with IGN

Chris Metzen's return and the upcoming 20th anniversary sparked interest in making big bets on a new direction for World of Warcraft. He came up with the initial ideas for a more epic storyline spanning multiple expansions, but two just wouldn't be enough to tell it the whole story.

They want everyone to be able to enjoy World of Warcraft and join in its journey, but part of a story spanning multiple expansions is putting them out faster, so that players won't miss out on those epic moments - what's coming is incredible.

The team was already excited about on a journey into the center of Azeroth, while reservations about being stuck underground for a whole expansion were settled with ideas of giant open areas with vegetation and natural light. Zaralek Caverns already proved they could already make underground areas feel expansive while retaining flying.

As we explore, players will uncover the machinations of Xal'atath, setting up a battle with the Void - leading into the next chapter (Midnight). The story is a culmination of all the things the Titans left behind, mysterious artifacts, voices and apparitions - the things players have really been wondering about for the last 20 years, what it's all about.

The team felt they needed to make it clear to the players that they're serious about this story, they have a plan for the story, and they're committed to telling it, but they also want to reassure players that they can jump in at any time - if for whatever reason you skip The War Within, you could jump in with Midnight, or The Last Titan. While they all tie together into an overarching story, each expansion is a distinct piece that will stand on its own.

World of Warcraft has continually moved forward, and there are a lot of stories that they want to wrap up and characters they want to revisit. The 20th anniversary is the perfect time for this, though the team has never planned this far in advance before, but now they know where they're going for a good period of time, which allows them to lean into it and create better threads between each plot point - similar to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has told ongoing stories across multiple movies.

The War Within has already been in development for some time and they're already working on Midnight, but they've also been building new foundations to work on multiple expansions at the same time, while the Live Team still continues to develop current expansion/Dragonflight content. It's still a learning phase, figuring out how to do all of this at the same time, but the development of WoW is very fluid, so teams can help each other along the way - and they're absolutely committed to it.

They don't want less content as a result of faster expansions, that's the benefit of the live team continuing to produce new patch content while the expansion teams work ahead. They want to remain committed to an eight-week cadence, and all the things you expect in an expansion will continue, but they're looking to get a little more creative with the period of time in-between expansions -they're not ready to speak about those future features yet, but they're looking to do some significant things! They're pretty sure players will be pleased.

Transparency is the way forward. Blizzard exists because of the fans, and the dedicated fans want information - they want to know what's being worked on and what's coming. Roadmaps and other forms of communication have been experiments to facilitate more openness between the developers and players.

The Warcraft movie was one of the big reasons they reorganized from World of Warcraft into the Warcraft Universe, which Holly is part of the leadership of. Everything begins with someone's passion about an idea, which is evaluated as to how it works for Warcraft as a whole - for example, Warcraft Rumble was built with the understanding that some players may not have any previous experience with the Warcraft franchise. One of the big reasons Chris Metzen is back is to be the arbiter of what's in and what's out. Warcraft is a universe - they're starting with games, but they will be expanding beyond that...

They weren't kidding about three decades of Warcraft either; it's the current developers goal that the Warcraft universe live beyond them, handing it off to a new group of creatives working on platforms that might not have even been imagined yet.

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Comment by GrokironhideNot sure how I feel about that, Phase 1-3 MCU maybe, pretty much everything post end game has had terrible writing and storylines. Not that everything before end game was a master piece (Looking at you thor: the dark world), but there is a significant downgrade after end game.

After BFA and Shadowlands going off the rails it's nice having Dragonflight being a step up, but even it has it's flaws.Comment by LostelfI can't think of a phrase that would've made me wretch more than "MCU-style expansions".Comment by rahundI don't want wow and marvel to be in the same sentence. The marvel direction will be the death of this gameComment by dabone1337Not sure how I feel about that, Phase 1-3 MCU maybe, pretty much everything post end game has had terrible writing and storylines. Not that everything before end game was a master piece (Looking at you thor: the dark world), but there is a significant downgrade after end game.

After BFA and Shadowlands going off the rails it's nice having Dragonflight being a step up, but even it has it's flaws.I can't think of a phrase that would've made me wretch more than "MCU-style expansions".Comment by ShadereIf future cinema for WOW please make animated in the same style as WOW is now. The Warcraft Universe should not look like the Warcraft movie.Comment by ItacolomiNot sure how I feel about that, Phase 1-3 MCU maybe, pretty much everything post end game has had terrible writing and storylines. Not that everything before end game was a master piece (Looking at you thor: the dark world), but there is a significant downgrade after end game.

After BFA and Shadowlands going off the rails it's nice having Dragonflight being a step up, but even it has it's flaws.Comment by gameshuntersa and there are a lot of stories that they want to wrap up and characters they want to revisit Comment by apedosmilIf future cinema for WOW please make animated in the same style as WOW is now. The Warcraft Universe should not look like the Warcraft movie.Comment by ConsecraI really really hope they either get new writers for their grand plan or kick the existing ones in the butt to really bring out the potential of the Warcraft universe. The lore has been horrific since Shadowlands and almost Disney-esque recently which hurts as someone who largely plays for the story. They literally copy pasted the Avengers for the encounter between Alexstrasza and Fyrrak. The game deserves better and if Danuser and co. are incapable of doing it, let someone with more talent at it.Comment by SoifonNot a MCU fan. I like the darker, heavier stuff. Marvel is too light for me.

Also, not a fan of a tag team. I prefer the spotlight on one guy while the rest are side characters. So, yeah.....this direction does not sound too good for my tastes.Comment by DrakknfyreTransparency is the way forward. Comment by SPF18It's really funny seeing people pretend they always hated Marvel, eschewing it for real cinema.

Guarantee you nerds were getting excited for Winter Soldier and Endgame and whatever else, back when it wasn't cool to hate marvel.Comment by ElectricmurlocsI can't think of a phrase that would've made me wretch more than "MCU-style expansions".Comment by gp12345us
Guarantee you nerds were getting excited for Winter Soldier and Endgame and whatever else, back when it wasn't cool to hate marvel.Comment by ancineni

After BFA and Shadowlands going off the rails it's nice having Dragonflight being a step up, but even it has it's flaws.Comment by ablock"MCU style expansions"

lol passComment by Royceman95In my opinion, this looks really cool what they are doing. For me, when it comes to things I like (Like World of Warcraft) I’m easy to please. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future of World of Warcraft.Comment by CaptainDopeThe story lines in Dragonflight were too much about family, friendship, respect, forgiveness, compassion, acceptance. It’s like written for young children. Where’s the war and hatred? I’m not asking for things to become dark, gritty and edgy, but there’s gotta be some balance. The writers are playing it way too safe, and it makes things boring and bland.Comment by Dylanx63I really really hope they either get new writers for their grand plan or kick the existing ones in the butt to really bring out the potential of the Warcraft universe. The lore has been horrific since Shadowlands and almost Disney-esque recently which hurts as someone who largely plays for the story. They literally copy pasted the Avengers for the encounter between Alexstrasza and Fyrrak. The game deserves better and if Danuser and co. are incapable of doing it, let someone with more talent at it.Comment by LautnerI really really hope they either get new writers for their grand plan or kick the existing ones in the butt to really bring out the potential of the Warcraft universe. The lore has been horrific since Shadowlands and almost Disney-esque recently which hurts as someone who largely plays for the story. They literally copy pasted the Avengers for the encounter between Alexstrasza and Fyrrak. The game deserves better and if Danuser and co. are incapable of doing it, let someone with more talent at it.

12 3