World of Warcraft will likely be 20 years previous in 2024. After 20 years, one would possibly suppose that gamers of Blizzard’s MMORPG have seen all of it. However 2023 proved that Blizzard nonetheless has loads of concepts in regards to the recreation’s future, and if the final 12 months is any indication, that future actually seems to be vibrant.
The most recent growth for the trendy model of WoW, Dragonflight, launched on the tail-end of 2022 to optimistic opinions, alongside an bold content material launch roadmap for 2023. The growth itself proved to be a well-crafted, return-to-basics affair that the sport sorely wanted after 2020’s broadly disliked Shadowlands growth. All that goodwill, nonetheless, might have simply been squandered if Blizzard didn’t ship on its guarantees to ship extra content material on a extra frequent foundation within the 12 months forward.
Contemplating 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 recreation customers pay $15 a month for the privilege to play, I believe it is secure to say many gamers had been skeptical Blizzard might ship on its guarantees. Two main content material updates alongside 4 minor ones over the course of 2023 sounded bold, to say the least.
Blizzard, fortunately, delivered all that was promised after which some. Each eight weeks or so, there was substantial new content material for gamers to sink their tooth 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” actually 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 Buying and selling Put up function, which is in of itself a significant addition that has modified how gamers play and are rewarded. Closely anticipated Heritage Armor questlines for Orcs, People, Forsaken, and Night time Elves all arrived this 12 months. We additionally acquired the power for extra races to be extra lessons, a number of new occasions, updates to the sport’s numerous 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 is numerous stuff! Early subsequent 12 months, 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. These are each enormous additions, and options that previously seemingly would have been saved as a part of a significant content material patch and even an growth, and as such would have taken months and even years, slightly than weeks, to reach.
In an interview with GameSpot earlier this 12 months, WoW govt producer Holly Longdale stated the WoW improvement crew had primarily “reinvented” itself, and alongside the way in which modified its definition of “what it means for WoW to be a live-service recreation.” Primarily based on Activision Blizzard’s earnings studies, it appears the WoW crew’s reinvention has paid off, with Dragonflight boasting larger subscriber-retention numbers when in comparison with different current expansions.
WoW Traditional, too, has had an eventful 12 months. In Wrath of the Lich King Traditional, Ulduar and Icecrown Citadel had been each rereleased, giving followers the possibility to relive among the recreation’s most iconic raids. The sport’s Traditional Period servers noticed a resurgence in reputation due to a fan-driven Hardcore mode, the place gamers battled their means by Azeroth on a quest to achieve stage 60 with out dying. A one-life permadeath mode turned out to be a good 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 top of October. The mode was a success on Twitch particularly, and even spawned the largest, highest-stakes PvP match within the historical past of WoW within the type of OTK’s $100,000 prize pool Hardcore Mak’gora Tournament.
Usually, the entire above can be an enormous 12 months for each variations of Blizzard’s flagship title. However 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. Although there have been reveals for Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, BlizzCon 2023 was largely devoted to what was subsequent for WoW.
Because it seems, so much. WoW Traditional gamers had been excited, and initially just a little bit confused, when Longdale took the BlizzCon stage to announce a brand new season of WoW Traditional known as Season of Discovery was coming earlier than the top of the 12 months, 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 growth, citing participant demand for it, in 2024.
Then got here the second followers had been ready for. Chris Metzen, considered one of WoW’s founding fathers who lately rejoined Blizzard full-time as an govt inventive 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 subsequent WoW growth as anticipated, however the subsequent three expansions. Blizzard was making a dedication to a trilogy of expansions known as The Worldsoul Saga, one that might inform a bigger story and can be the end result of lots of the storylines and plot threads which have continued all through WoW’s 20-year historical past. Higher but, Metzen pledged Blizzard would do every thing in its energy to launch the expansions extra rapidly than followers had been used to, seemingly hinting at the potential of a 18 or 12-month growth launch cadence, considerably sooner than the two-year growth launch sample Blizzard has used for the reason that recreation’s earliest days.
Going into 2024, the always-moving practice that’s WoW appears like a well-oiled machine for the primary time in a very long time, slightly than a runaway locomotive struggling to remain on the shoddily constructed tracks that had been laid in entrance of it simply moments in the past. The final 12 months of WoW has proved that Blizzard has what it takes on the subject of delivering significant new content material to maintain gamers coming again, and there is nothing up to now that leads me to suspect that will not proceed within the 12 months forward, as is evidenced by Blizzard’s WoW content material roadmap for 2024. It is a Blizzard that’s extra clear with its plans than ever earlier than, and in addition one which is not afraid to experiment, hearken to participant suggestions, and solid off old-assumptions about what works and what would not.
There have, in fact, been controversies within the final 12 months. Followers do not appear happy with Blizzard’s choice to promote early entry to an growth 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 enable for probably controversial or offensive content material to achieve the sport’s public check realm with seemingly little oversight. In Wrath of the Lich King Traditional, the sudden introduction of the controversial WoW Token with no prior warning from Blizzard precipitated an uproar among the many neighborhood and served as a reminder that even when Blizzard has largely improved on the subject of speaking with followers, it could possibly nonetheless on occassion fail spectacularly. And there are nonetheless issues that Dealer’s Tender, the forex used as a part of the sport’s lately launched Buying and selling Put up and which had been initially solely earnable by finishing in-game actions, has turn out to be simply one other microtransaction due to Blizzard’s choice to supply the forex as a part of numerous store bundles and growth preorders.
Be that as it could, it appears clear Blizzard is listening–something that in newer years hasn’t felt prefer it’s all the time been the case. It is onerous 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 is equally onerous to think about the WoW Traditional crew of 2019, as soon as solely devoted to recreating the sport because it was two-decades-ago, introducing brand-new skills, objects, and content material to the 2006-version of the MMO. That is precisely what has occurred 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 is an expertise gamers appear desirous to see unfold over the course of the subsequent 12 months.
That is all to say that 2023 proved to be among the best years in WoW’s lengthy historical past. Blizzard delivered unbelievable new options and evergreen enhancements alongside attention-grabbing new Dragonflight content material at a gentle tempo that saved gamers subscribed and logging in for extra. WoW Traditional is at present within the midst of forging a daring new id for itself as properly, with Season of Discovery trying to breathe new life right into a recreation that has till now largely served as an interactive time capsule. WoW will likely be 20 subsequent 12 months, and although it stays to be seen how Blizzard will formally have fun the event, persevering with to construct on the success of 2023 looks like an awesome place to begin.