Summary
Now that Blizzard Entertainment is part of Microsoft, manyWorld of Warcraftplayers are wondering if Blizzard’s flagship title will ever come to consoles, and executive producer Holly Longdale had a lot to say about that particular topic.World of Warcraftcame out at a time when MMOs were primarily made with a PC audience in mind, and while it has enjoyed a nearly unmatched level of success over the years, many of its competitors such asFinal Fantasy 14have since provided options for console players to dig into the MMO experience. With the announcement of theWorldsoul Saga forWorld of Warcraft, Blizzard has a chance to bring the game to an even wider audience.
Though the team is primarily focused on developing the Worldsoul Saga, the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard is now complete, and thepossibility ofWorld of Warcraftcoming to Xboxhas remained an unaddressed elephant in the room since. The developers already have a lot to deal with, asThe War Withinis slated for a late 2024 launch, but it is important to note that Blizzard is now uniquely positioned to bringWorld of Warcraftto Microsoft’s console.
“We’ve got these three expansions, and we are so excited about them. But, yeah, of course. It would be very insincere to say that we’re not, like… of course we’re talking about that. We are Microsoft now.”
WithFinal Fantasy 14also releasing an Xbox version in early 2024, Blizzard is arguably leaving money on the table by not following suit. During herinterview with GamesRadar, Holly Longdale was asked if an Xbox version ofWorld of Warcraftwas being internally discussed, to which she had to say: “Of course! Yeah, we talk about it all the time.”
“We’ve got these three expansions, and we are so excited about them. But, yeah, of course. It would be very insincere to say that we’re not, like… of course we’re talking about that. We are Microsoft now,” Longdale added with a chuckle. She explained that a console audience had a completely different level of approachability, and that the question was ultimately more complicated than it may seem on paper. However, based on the answer provided by the Blizzard executive, it’s very probable thatWorld of Warcraftwill get its console port at some point in the future.
The War Withinwill bring manyevergreen features toWorld of Warcraft, and something that players could keep an eye out for would be the inclusion of console-friendly features. For example,Shadowlandsadded native controller support in Patch 9.0.1.
WithCataclysmand theSeason of Discovery coming toWorld of WarcraftClassic, Blizzard has shown a willingness to grow theWarcraftbrand in a non-linear direction. Though it remains to be seen how long it would take for an Xbox version to be developed, Longdale has at least confirmed that the developer team is on the same page as the audience in that regard.
World of Warcraft
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World of Warcraft is an incredibly successful MMORPG that has been going strong for almost two decades. It’s one of the highest-grossing franchises in history and is widely considered the most popular MMORPG ever made.
