Should WoW End or Go F2P? Decade Ago, No One Believed It'd be Alive
In 2014, a Blizzard representative assured that World of Warcraft would still be alive in 2024. It did, although many fans strongly doubted it.
In November this year, World of Warcraft, the hit MMORPG from Blizzard studio set in the iconic fantasy universe, will celebrate its 20th anniversary. For many, this title is truly synonymous with the genre itself and continues to enjoy immense popularity among gamers.
Fans often predicted the inevitable death of this production, usually along with the announcements of upcoming additions and changes. Such opinions started appearing as early as... 2007 during the first expansion of the title, namely The Burning Crusade. It's therefore not surprising that Blizzard's representatives' bold announcements about the longevity of World of Warcraft were received with a healthy dose of reserve, and often even ridicule from fans.
"WoW won't last"
An example of this is an interview with Ion Hazzikostas, then lead designer and now director of World of Warcraft, given to CNET in 2014 (via GameSpot). The creator then assured that the title would still be alive in 2024. Quoting him:
I definitely can't tell you what our 20th anniversary is going to be. I can tell you there is definitely going to be one. I have no doubt saying that. We're definitely planning into the future, talking about what the next expansion is going to be, and what the one after that is going to be, just in terms of big picture storylines, how can we start setting things up now, where do we want the game to go. Ultimately it's all one step at a time.
A decade ago, this statement generated 266 comments on GameSpot. Some of it was quite sarcastic and, let's face it, it hasn't aged very well. Here are some of them.
if the game dont get a graph upgrade like next gen one and reworked instances game will lose 95% players in less that 5 years no matter how many expansion they release
- Joker 2988
I guess they think they can milk this for another 10 years. At best, it'll be a free to play game at that point.
- oroelf
It might be around, but only 17 people will be playing it. For an MMO that still charges a subscription fee, the updates are a lot slower then the competitors. Sure, some people will come back to see the expansion, but they will leave a couple of months later.
- dogfather76
Like, in a museum?
- rogue81
Don't bet on it, Blizzard. 15 years at a push, but not 20.
- DanielL5583
Plot twist - WoW will still be alive, but no one will play it.
- Mr. Nee
And finally we come to the last comment under GameSpot's text. It was posted on February 19 at 20:03 by the user Darth_Haderach.
It is now 2024, Ion was right.
WoW's here to stay
Either way, despite many complaints and controversies, it doesn't look like World of Warcraft will be going anywhere anytime soon. Moreover, a lot of new features have been announced for this year, including further updates and a new expansion titled The War Within. You can see the plans for the coming months below.
