Two WoW Expansions Are in Development Simultaneously
Blizzard has revealed that it is currently developing two WoW expansions simultaneously. The revelation came to light during a recent interview with Bloomberg. During the conversation, General Manager John Hight and Executive Producer Holly Longdale provided more details about this strategic decision.
Blizzard has set up separate teams for the two forthcoming chapters. One is devoted to The War Within, while the other is focused on Midnight. These teams are stationed in two development offices:
- The primary campus in Irvine, California.
- The recently acquired studio in Boston, Massachusetts.
“We essentially have the makings of two expansion teams and a live team… We’re building these foundations, and it’s already working. The team worked incredibly hard, and it’s paying off.”
— Holly Longdale
This revelation follows the exciting triple-expansion announcement at BlizzCon 2023. The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan are all connected through the Worldsoul Saga storyline. Notably, the release of these expansions will be significantly faster than the usual schedule.
“We’re doing things right now on [Midnight] that under a normal timeframe we would not be doing. We don’t want to rush people to the next expansion, but we also don’t want to drag things out longer than necessary.”
— John Hight
This strategic move will definitely reduce content droughts. However, it has also sparked concerns among players.
Gamers are apprehensive about the potential impact on the quality of the expansions. Other than that, if the releases are simultaneously at full price, some players may feel overwhelmed. Moreover, more expansions in a shorter time may place a heavy burden on the development teams’ workload. Thus, leading to worries about their well-being and working conditions.
While WoW’s future appears promising, the raised concerns mentioned earlier are not at all baseless. It remains to be seen how the World Soul saga will eventually play out.
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