Blizzard Considers World of Warcraft 2

ElRenmazuo · August 2014

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/08/15/tom-chilton-talks-world-of-warcraft-ii-and-warlords-of-draenor.aspx

I asked Chilton if we could see a World of Warcraft II and what that might entail.

“Definitely. It’s something we have talked about. It’s something we have talked about for ten years.I think that there are a lot of challenges there in seeing how World of Warcraft II relates to World of Warcraft, do they live alongside each other, does one feed into the other, what is that product, etc. These are challenges that have to be figured out before that becomes a reality.”

Bladestrom · August 2014

let me cut through the bullshit:

We will gain more profit from WOW expansions than investing in a WOW 2.

Fingz · August 2014

I've read a lot of WoW is dying posts over the years. My first thought is always, 'why wouldn't they release a WoW2?' There was a Warcraft 1, 2 and 3. Was WoW not successful?

Mpfive · August 2014

Sounds like hype to keep you playing blizzard products

BurntCabbage · August 2014

Originally posted by Bladestrom
let me cut through the bullshit:

We will gain more profit from WOW expansions than investing in a WOW 2.

do you really think that? or are you just implying thats what they are trying to say?

imo i really do think they would make boat loads as they did with WoW ..and yes weather people hate it as much as i do and for my own reasons it still remains a fact that it still holds a huge fan base and still doing pretty dam well over the many years its been out

if they did go forth with a WoW2 id hope they would go a more grittier type grafix model and sway away from the cartoony look

nariusseldon · August 2014

Originally posted by Fingz

I've read a lot of WoW is dying posts over the years. My first thought is always, 'why wouldn't they release a WoW2?' There was a Warcraft 1, 2 and 3. Was WoW not successful?

Because classical MMORPG is no longer the trend, and they would rather do other types of games?

nariusseldon · August 2014

Originally posted by zymurgeist

That's a paragraph of "we haven't got a clue." They may try someday but no one even knows where to begin.

nah .. i think they know better than anyone else. D3 sold 20M copies, RoS is the best selling PC game, Hearthstone is a big success ... they have more consistent success in the gaming market than anyone else.

The paragraph is instead saying .. we don't think there is a future for wow-type classical MMORPGs, don't you see, we are making other types of games now.

laokoko · August 2014

Originally posted by Fingz

I've read a lot of WoW is dying posts over the years. My first thought is always, 'why wouldn't they release a WoW2?' There was a Warcraft 1, 2 and 3. Was WoW not successful?

Consider WoW is doing better than just about every mmorpg out there, I'm not sure if you should call it dying.

Even if they made WoW2.0, there is no guarantee it will be better than wow. Hundreds of wow clone failed, WoW2.0 might be the next failure.

So it is best if they try holding on WoW as long as possible (unless it is really dying).

Pepeq · August 2014

The only thing WoW has going for it these days is the fact that people who have played the game for a very long time are vested in their characters. Any new game, including the vaporware known as Titan, wouldn't have that foothold to keep players playing it beyond the initial 30 days/content consumption. It's why WoW 2.0 and Titan aren't even on the horizon... they dare not lose what players they have now.

Bladestrom · August 2014

Originally posted by BurntCabbage
Originally posted by Bladestrom
let me cut through the bullshit:

We will gain more profit from WOW expansions than investing in a WOW 2.

do you really think that? or are you just implying thats what they are trying to say?

imo i really do think they would make boat loads as they did with WoW ..and yes weather people hate it as much as i do and for my own reasons it still remains a fact that it still holds a huge fan base and still doing pretty dam well over the many years its been out

if they did go forth with a WoW2 id hope they would go a more grittier type grafix model and sway away from the cartoony look

I also think they would make a packet, you could easily see WOW 2 subs going up to maybe 13+. However I know well how corporations work, and the options are as follows:

1. continue current strategy as long as possible, invest in an expansion every 2 years at maybe 50 mil or so, with the internal promises that this time the next expansion will retain 10 million +, giving another 2 year window to consider when to start WOW2.

2. invest 200-300+ on WOW 2 up front now. announce intention to the customer base because they know as soon as they make that announcement the customer base will love them again and hype will (rightly) start.

2 Should be the obvious option for any forward thinking company.

nariusseldon · August 2014

Originally posted by laokoko

Consider WoW is doing better than just about every mmorpg out there, I'm not sure if you should call it dying.

Even if they made WoW2.0, there is no guarantee it will be better than wow. Hundreds of wow clone failed, WoW2.0 might be the next failure.

So it is best if they try holding on WoW as long as possible (unless it is really dying).

Blizz has yet made a game that is not successful. The recent hearthstone is a hit. Their MOBA probably will do well when it is released.

My bet is ... they are not going to bother with a new MMO. There are many other ways to make good games.

Rivol · August 2014

WoW 2.0 is about as likely as Blizzard making a Diablo/StarCraft mmo. It would fracture their already sizable player base so there is no real point.

The only scenario I could see it happening is in 10 years now when WoW has become so dated that no amount of money/development stops it from becoming a niche product that a total re-vamp is required.

Velonius650 · August 2014

A lot of us got pulled into WoW because of the success of the rts games and the lore they built. To jump right into WoW 2 would be crazy. Instead they'd need at minimum to make a WC 4 rts game to generate interest for an mmo sequel. Otherwise WoW 2 would be even more of the same old as it already appeals to a wide variety of theme park goers.

Bigdaddyx · August 2014

Originally posted by Pepeq
The only thing WoW has going for it these days is the fact that people who have played the game for a very long time are vested in their characters. Any new game, including the vaporware known as Titan, wouldn't have that foothold to keep players playing it beyond the initial 30 days/content consumption. It's why WoW 2.0 and Titan aren't even on the horizon... they dare not lose what players they have now.

Ehh? so you mean only WOW is the MMO where people feel vested in their character? what about EQ? EQ2? DAOC? there are plenty of old games where people feel vested in their characters.

To make it sound that it is something only working for WOW is silly. Give credit where credit is due , WOW has lot of things going for it that is why it is still the king. Love ow people always try to trivialise WOW's success.

Stzza · August 2014

The only reason they would have to make a "WoW 2" is to completely overhaul the aging engine of the entire game. Entirely revamped world, characters, animations, etc.

WoW has gone in cycles since WOTLK. The population dwindles (In wow terms being 6 million ppl hah) they release the expansion and it explodes again. rinse repeat.

I mean what else is there really to do unless they completely went in an entirely new direction with the Warcraft story and it would be on another world. Which could and has been done in their expansions.

Slampig · August 2014

Originally posted by BurntCabbage
Originally posted by Bladestrom
let me cut through the bullshit:

We will gain more profit from WOW expansions than investing in a WOW 2.

do you really think that? or are you just implying thats what they are trying to say?

imo i really do think they would make boat loads as they did with WoW ..and yes weather people hate it as much as i do and for my own reasons it still remains a fact that it still holds a huge fan base and still doing pretty dam well over the many years its been out

if they did go forth with a WoW2 id hope they would go a more grittier type grafix model and sway away from the cartoony look

Just looks like some dude that hates Blizzard for whatever reason. Dime a dozen.

MsPtibiscuit · August 2014

If Blizzard makes a new MMO, it will probably be a sandbox. They are just waiting for the planned ones (CU, BDO, Archeage, ...) to release and then see what works, what doesn't to make a more polished sandbox, and more appealing for less-hardcore gamers.

Thane · August 2014

Originally posted by Pepeq
The only thing WoW has going for it these days is the fact that people who have played the game for a very long time are vested in their characters. Any new game, including the vaporware known as Titan, wouldn't have that foothold to keep players playing it beyond the initial 30 days/content consumption. It's why WoW 2.0 and Titan aren't even on the horizon... they dare not lose what players they have now.

alot of hatred i sense. lose it you must, or destroy you it will!

Myrdynn · August 2014

they will wait til EQN starts Alpha, get like 10 of their Devs into it, then build a better version of it, based in a Warcraft World

PioneerStew · August 2014

They won't release WOW2 while it would only steal players from the still incredibly profitable WOW.

I would imagine they have watched the direction the mmo market has taken (over-saturated, diversified and with low rates of retention) and are abundantly aware that they are unlikely to ever repeat their success.

DarLorkar · August 2014

What WOW did was take a little bit from every game out there, and even ones that came out after, and polish and add to the original WOW.

So what could they make WOW 2 from? WOW? Why? Would just be cannibalizing WOW player base to transfer to WOW 2.

When WOW really starts to lose subs or income to where it needs to cut servers and/or devs to a large degree, then, that will be time to look for them to seriously consider making a jump to something new. A long way off i would think.

I would not be surprised to still have WOW going for another 10 years.

Vigiliance · August 2014

The only reason I see WoW 2 ever being potentially developed is that they came to a conclusion that they wanted a hard reset on the game. They wanted to keep the IP and lore from the previous games but decided we want to build WoW under a new set of principles and game design philosophies. With how popular and profitable WoW still is, I don't see this happening.

Despite having some of the same content for the last year, WoW is still incredibly successful. They are going to ride the horse bloody but that doesn't mean their game is going to be complete shit (many people who hate wow will disagree of course) but like any franchise it will inevitably end. If WoW ended after the next expansion it would still be an incredibly successful franchise and something that most companies do and will still shoot for.

The best hope that old school MMORPG players have is that MMO's are just a fad right now and that eventually developers won't be able to just make games that cater to the lowest common denominator.

gervaise1 · August 2014

Originally posted by Myrdynn
they will wait til EQN starts Alpha, get like 10 of their Devs into it, then build a better version of it, based in a Warcraft World

They know the premise behind EQN: a business model centred around player created content. Having devs play the alpha won't tell them anything they don't already know. Will they go this route - no sign of them doing so at this moment. Then again if they are planning more 12+ month content holidays maybe they should!

gervaise1 · August 2014

Originally posted by nariusseldon
Originally posted by zymurgeist

That's a paragraph of "we haven't got a clue." They may try someday but no one even knows where to begin.

nah .. i think they know better than anyone else. D3 sold 20M copies, RoS is the best selling PC game, Hearthstone is a big success ... they have more consistent success in the gaming market than anyone else.

The paragraph is instead saying .. we don't think there is a future for wow-type classical MMORPGs, don't you see, we are making other types of games now.

Both.

They either don't have a clue how to make another WoW or have decided the market simply won't support a new sub based game and the safe option - financially - is to keep WoW going as long as possible, spending as little as possible whilst doing so. And the future involves new games: Hearthstone, Destiny (via Bungie), etc.

MMOVet74 · August 2014

Of course there will be a WoW 2. There is no question about it. With an IP that massive, the potential revenue is to hard to ignore. But right now WoW makes a shitload of money and it makes no sense to release a 2nd WoW financially. When WoW starts losing a significant number of players , they will adopt a F2P model. They are already preparing for it, as they have already introduced a cash shop, but it won't happen till sub numbers go below a certain point that they feel F2P would generate more revenue. Once F2P hits WoW will go into a 2nd phase of financial success. I can see then making more money with a F2P model then they make right now. With that said, this game will be financially successful for many more years to come. I can see a WoW 2 coming out in about 10 years but not sooner, so don't wait for it, but yes it will happen.

kjempff · August 2014

This interview is just a diplomatic answer to something he couldn't answer yes or no to, so he decided to keep the door open and answer maybe.

First Blizzard will need to see WoW player numbers go seriously down, because as other mentioned they have no reason to compete with their other products. Also they want to see if EQN and and other builder types of mmorpgs are valid business models. Blizzard are not inventors, they are refiners, so they watch and make better models over successful ideas.

Personally I don't beleive one bit in WoW2, if they were to make a new mmorpg, I would put my money on a builder mmorpg-rts mix probably based on Starcraft.. this is also because I don't see WoW dying in the next 5 years anyways, and they need to do something new and something that isn't dragging customers from WoW.

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