Could next WoW expo be in alpha (friend/family) testing stage now?

[Xjev]

I was wondering could next WoW expo be in alpha friend&family testing stage atm? Or that would have at least leaked its title? Because if its not and they want to release beta right after blizzcon would they skip alpha private testing totally?

[wowhasnothrone]

I was wondering could next WoW expo be in alpha friend&family testing stage atm? Or that would have at least leaked its title? Because if its not and they want to release beta right after blizzcon would they skip alpha private testing totally?

no and this was asked last time too. chances are, expect a new expansion in 6-9 months

[torterra275]

I was wondering could next WoW expo be in alpha friend&family testing stage atm? Or that would have at least leaked its title? Because if its not and they want to release beta right after blizzcon would they skip alpha private testing totally?

Dark Below was leaked and very liked is the title. I think its in F&F right now, but no confirmation. Blizzard said they wanted a fast release cycle.

[Ulgrim]

It would have to be pretty far along in development, otherwise we're going to have another ICC situation.

[Kalcheus]

Wouldn't surprise me if they no longer do an F&F

[Heywoods]

Not likely. When secrecy is paramount, you want to make sure there are as few people as possible who could leak info. However, I wouldn't be surprised if portions of the new x-pac are available on computer terminals for employees at the Anaheim office already. This is the equivalent to the demo stations at past Blizzcon's.

Also, F&F Alpha's are just not as common of a practice as they once were. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the F&F Alpha go away altogether. The WoW dev team has some ambitious goals surrounding their content cycles & as long as their Q&A team remains solid there isn't as much need for an alpha anymore. Even beta's have become less and less necessary for polishing the game, and more of a tool for PR, marketing, and sales.

[ravenmoon]

Not likely. When secrecy is paramount, you want to make sure there are as few people as possible who could leak info. However, I wouldn't be surprised if portions of the new x-pac are available on computer terminals for employees at the Anaheim office already. This is the equivalent to the demo stations at past Blizzcon's.

you want to leak info, it's a great publicist stunt managed wisely.

[Julian Rayne]

It's possible I suppose but I think that the theme would probably have leaked if the F&F alpha was underway.

[Therougetitan]

Dark Below was leaked and very liked is the title. I think its in F&F right now, but no confirmation. Blizzard said they wanted a fast release cycle.

Dark Below isn't a "leak". Leak is something that gets unintentionally out to the public.

It was filed for a trademark on a public site, openly viewable by anyone. That isn't a leak. Then it failed to become a full fledged trademarked and was pulled.

[Realsykes]

Dark Below was leaked and very liked is the title. I think its in F&F right now, but no confirmation. Blizzard said they wanted a fast release cycle.

Time and time again, just because a name is announced/leaked, does not mean it's the name of the expansion.

Heroes of the Storm was as viable until they cleared that up, same with D3's expansion title.

[Naposim1337]

most likely not, there will not be any alpha at all most likely

[Kuja]

Without a doubt. They said they can release expansions faster now, and intend to do so. So beta should start some weeks after blizzcon if they are planning on keeping their word. So alpha is going right now if there is an alpha.

[KungFuFanta]

If it's not in a Friends and Family alpha it's surely being focus tested by at least some group of people somewhere. Maybe they pay overtime people from other departments or even WoW's department to test WoW say 2-3 hours a day. God knows they have the money for that, they make over a billion a year if 7 million people pay their subscriptions for a full year.

Even pandaria wasn't leaked as a "leak", it was trademarked somewhere as well, and I remember they had an alpha for that. I'm pretty sure they ask the alpha testers to be very careful and not go write reviews about it on their facebook pages.

[Count Zero]

Dark Below isn't a "leak". Leak is something that gets unintentionally out to the public.

It was filed for a trademark on a public site, openly viewable by anyone. That isn't a leak. Then it failed to become a full fledged trademarked and was pulled.

Well, with this specific situation you're right (as far as we can tell), but fundamentally a public trademark app could be considered a leak:

There are countries that do not have publicly-searchable online trademark application databases. If Blizz wanted to, they could initially submit their application in one of those nations, and then parlay that into further international trademarks when they are ready for full announcement. Knowing this, I think any legitimate trademark applications on public databases could constitute a "leak" as that term is pretty broad and does not necessarily preclude intentional releases.

[Heywoods]

Without a doubt. They said they can release expansions faster now, and intend to do so. So beta should start some weeks after blizzcon if they are planning on keeping their word. So alpha is going right now if there is an alpha.

The assumption here is that an alpha is required. As dev cycles are ramped up, you can start to cut out sections of the product roadmap & still release a high quality product. The WoW dev & QA team are larger than they ever have been. I definitely expect beta to be released ~2-3 weeks after Blizzcon as part of some marketing promotion.

The new Diablo 3 expansion is coming out. After the success of the last promotion I wouldn't be surprised if we see another version of this for the upcoming WoW & Diablo 3 expansion.

- - - Updated - - -

If it's not in a Friends and Family alpha it's surely being focus tested by at least some group of people somewhere. Maybe they pay overtime people from other departments or even WoW's department to test WoW say 2-3 hours a day. God knows they have the money for that, they make over a billion a year if 7 million people pay their subscriptions for a full year.

Even pandaria wasn't leaked as a "leak", it was trademarked somewhere as well, and I remember they had an alpha for that. I'm pretty sure they ask the alpha testers to be very careful and not go write reviews about it on their facebook pages.

Blizzard has a large dedicated QA team, but they also employ temporary/seasonal QA testers when they reach the "Alpha" milestone in the product roadmap.

[KungFuFanta]

The assumption here is that an alpha is required. As dev cycles are ramped up, you can start to cut out sections of the product roadmap & still release a high quality product. The WoW dev & QA team are larger than they ever have been. I definitely expect beta to be released ~2-3 weeks after Blizzcon as part of some marketing promotion.

The new Diablo 3 expansion is coming out. After the success of the last promotion I wouldn't be surprised if we see another version of this for the upcoming WoW & Diablo 3 expansion.

I'm not sure what point I am trying to make here, if any, but Diablo 3 beta was a joke. The game got released pretty polished as far as its launch mechanisms were concerned, but so many features and issues which should have been there and/or fixed from launch day were ignored.

[NMX-]

I was wondering could next WoW expo be in alpha friend&family testing stage atm?

Not yet. Maybe soon after Blizzcon.

Or that would have at least leaked its title?

Not yet. I think we MIGHT see a copyright on the day before or day of Blizzcon. Blizzard has been kicking a lot of ass with leaks lately.

Because if its not and they want to release beta right after blizzcon would they skip alpha private testing totally?

Blizzard will want to release a high-quality "released when ready" product. They want subscriptions to go up. They know D3 was a shaky game when launches, and will be wise to avoid releasing it when it's not ready.

[snuzzle]

Probably not. For every expansion prior to this, we have always known when it is going into F&F. Once it's there, the leaks start flowing like water. I sincerely doubt it's in alpha right now, but it's very likely they do have at least a somewhat playable version so that they can show us footage at Blizzcon.

[Sageofthe10paths]

I'm thinking it is in alpha, but won't be playable at blizzcon. They said they will have to release a filler content patch after 5.4 to span the gap. Gonna guess 5.4.1 comes out right after blizz con or atleast the PTR does. Really hope it's the dark below expansion!!!

[lolo855]

Nope, I've tested every single xpack with friends/family inv from a friend working for blizzard, and he hasn't send me an invite yet, so Nope !