The World of Warcraft team plans the future of the game years in advance, at least until 17.0.
In an interview with the WoWCast podcast about the MMO expansion The War Within, which is coming later this month, the series’ creative director Chris Metzen explained that it’s “one of the most exciting creative periods I’ve ever experienced” behind the scenes at Blizzard. The MMO team isn’t just busy with this month’s expansion – The War Within kicks off the Worldsoul Saga, the long-running game’s first attempt at creating a cohesive trilogy.
Because each chapter has to feed into the next, Metzen says the team is “already in the process of planning 13.1 and 13.2 and seeing how they actually impact and connect. It’s wild.” To give you an idea of how far away that is, World of Warcraft is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and is so far on update 11.0.2.
“In some ways, you can step back and see a much more cohesive vision and a much more fleshed out idea over time,” Metzen continues. “Without giving anything away, we’re honestly already talking about the next (updates) from 17.0 onwards. It’s just about keeping the assembly line moving.”
Metzen explains that the WoW team planned so far in advance this time around because fans now “want more content on a more regular basis” and Blizzard developers are simply “keeping one step ahead” while “making sure everything has a purpose to tell this much longer story.”
In the more immediate future, World of Warcraft: The War Within on August 26 brings cross-character transmog features, an ancient spider race, as well as an Arachnophobia mode and a potentially grim fate for the High King of the Alliance.
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