World of Warcraft shall be 20 years outdated in 2024. After twenty 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 concerning the recreation’s future, and if the final 12 months is any indication, that future actually appears shiny.
The most recent enlargement 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 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, 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 have 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 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 Buying and selling Put up characteristic, which is in of itself a serious 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 received the flexibility for extra races to be extra courses, a number of new occasions, updates to the sport’s varied vacation occasions, a never-before-seen help fashion DPS specialization, extra story content material, a time-travel targeted megadungeon, a considerable rework for Retribution Paladins, UI enhancements, and extra.
That is quite a lot of 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 flexibility to make use of dragonriding throughout the whole thing of Azeroth, as a substitute of solely in Dragonflight’s Dragon Isle zones. These are each big additions, and options that previously possible would have been saved as a part of a serious content material patch and even an enlargement, and as such would have taken months and even years, fairly than weeks, to reach.
In an interview with GameSpot earlier this 12 months, WoW govt producer Holly Longdale mentioned the WoW growth group had basically “reinvented” itself, and alongside the way in which modified its definition of “what it means for WoW to be a live-service recreation.” Based mostly on Activision Blizzard’s earnings stories, it appears the WoW group’s reinvention has paid off, with Dragonflight boasting greater subscriber-retention numbers when in comparison with different latest expansions.
WoW Basic, too, has had an eventful 12 months. In Wrath of the Lich King Basic, Ulduar and Icecrown Citadel have been each rereleased, giving followers the prospect to relive a few of the recreation’s most iconic raids. The sport’s Basic Period servers noticed a resurgence in reputation because of a fan-driven Hardcore mode, the place gamers battled their method by way of Azeroth on a quest to achieve degree 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 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 Match.
Usually, the entire above could 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, loads. WoW Basic gamers have been excited, and initially just a little bit confused, when Longdale took the BlizzCon stage to announce a brand new season of WoW Basic referred to as Season of Discovery was coming earlier than the tip of the 12 months, one that will 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 among WoW’s founding fathers who just lately rejoined Blizzard full-time as an govt inventive director, took the stage to hype up the gang. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the jaws of WoW gamers in all places hit the ground when Metzen did not simply announce the subsequent 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 will inform a bigger story and could be the end result of lots of the storylines and plot threads which have persevered all through WoW’s 20-year historical past. Higher but, Metzen pledged Blizzard would do every part in its energy to launch the expansions extra rapidly 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 because the recreation’s earliest days.
Going into 2024, the always-moving prepare that’s WoW looks like a well-oiled machine for the primary time in a very long time, fairly 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 12 months 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 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 likewise one which is not afraid to experiment, hearken to participant suggestions, and forged off old-assumptions about what works and what does 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 enlargement for the primary time in WoW’s historical past. There have been questions on WoW’s content material growth pipeline, and the way it can permit for probably controversial or offensive content material to achieve the sport’s public take a look at realm with seemingly little oversight. In Wrath of the Lich King Basic, 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 considerations that Dealer’s Tender, the forex used as a part of the sport’s just lately launched Buying and selling Put up and which have been initially solely earnable by finishing in-game actions, has change into simply one other microtransaction because of Blizzard’s choice 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 newer years hasn’t felt prefer it’s at all times been the case. It is laborious to think about the Blizzard of only a few years in the past introducing so many quality-of-life modifications for individuals who play a number of characters or the flexibility to run dungeons solo with NPC teammates. It is equally laborious to think about the WoW Basic group 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 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 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 the most effective years in WoW’s lengthy historical past. Blizzard delivered incredible 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 Basic is at the moment within the midst of forging a daring new identification for itself as effectively, 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 shall 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 a terrific place to begin.