Will WoW eventually..end?

[LemonDemonGirl]

Think about it. A lot of 'mysteries' and things we haven't seen yet until now have been covered, and eventually, all of Azeroth will have been 'explored' story-wise, so to speak. There might not be anything left to make an entire expansion for, and maybe Blizzard will just release patches for the game?

But then I think of games like Runescape and Everquest which have had like 20 or so (might not be 100% correct) expacs, and as far as I know they're still going strong. I guess the WoW universe could be 'rebooted' the way that FF11 was remade as FF14? Could a WoW 2 be eventually made? Will the expansion after Shadowlands be the last before WoW is finally done?

[aceperson]

will wow end? yes. whether by greed or just ending the story (we all know it will be greed), wow will end. until then blizz can keep writing new stuff and stories. keep in mind all the stories that were made before wow still had to be made up. there is nothing stopping new stories from being made.

[Chickat]

Yes for sure. Who knows when. Probably around the heat death of the universe.

[Kithelle]

Every game ends development eventually...

They could still add a content to Azeroth perhaps...and other places to explore. Azjol-Nerub perhaps...

Always the possibilities of other planets and still have the Void Lords to fight...they still have stuff to go but like I said...eventually development for every game ends.

[Raven]

There is a hole other side on the planet and other planets so if Wow ends its becouse they choose to end it, not that there is no more story.

[Luxeley]

I often think of WOW as the video game franchise version of Star Trek or Star Wars, two two legendary entertainment icons who've been around since the mid 70s and 60's respectively. There are a lot of parallels with the Star Wars and WOW franchises. Both franchises have seen a generous version of highs and lows and both of them have been acquired by another entity that somewhat tainted the franchise Disney and Star Wars, Activision and WOW. I used to believe WOW would endure the long haul, but now I am starting to think otherwise. Blizzard hasn't been very adept or even willing to make adjustments to the game for younger generations. While Star Trek and Star Wars still and always have appealed to kids, I don't believe WOW does (WOW used to, but not anymore). For the last 10 years, MMOs in general have been a declining genre and WOW hasn't made the necessary adjustments to weather that storm for the long haul to show consistent sub growth, if anything subs have been on the overall decline for 10 years. I believe WOW's longevity solely rests on a willingness of three things: 1) a willingness to evolve out of the MMO genre. 2) a willingness to significantly upgrade the game engine. 3) find a way of appealing to younger audience but maintain the maturity of the existing game. Right now, I don't the current Blizzard staff is up to these long term challenges, but things could always change going forward. If I had to make a decision, I'd say within 8-10 years WOW is a nostalgic game much in the same fashion as Runescape.

[Lorgran]

But then I think of games like Runescape and Everquest which have had like 10 or so expacs, and as far as I know they're still going strong.

You say 10 like that is some incredibly high number compared to WoW. We're soon done with the 7th, and steaming towards the 8th.

[Kemsa]

Yes, everything its finite. It has a destination.
Now how will end? we dont know. Greed, time, better games, who knows.
It should bother you? no.
It has something to do with the lore? No fuck no wtf is that "oh yeah we have covered" no dude, in real life there are thousands, millions of stories that you will never knew, discover, or stumbling upon. WoW its the same, just today i discover the old questline of the Harvest council from the green flame questline. I discover knew things that i didnt knew before. And so will happen, the LORE evolves, they add things, explain others, remove old concepts that for a time were true but now make no sense to believe it.

If there is a reason why WoW would die..... certanly its not from the Discovery/creative/lore point, but maybe in the "cash/money" point.

[Twdft]

Diablo II is still playable on b.net, so while the story of WoW will certainly end someday you'll be able to play it forever.

[PaladinBash]

Diablo 2 is still good. Warcraft 3 got a reboot. Classic has been a success. WoW ain't gonna truly die. Stop developing, sure. Stop getting better? Already there. Die and be gone forever? Not a chance.

[Edlarel]

But then I think of games like Runescape and Everquest which have had like 10 or so expacs

Everquest has 24 expansions, and came out in 1999. It's 21 years' old, and still going at this time (I have friends who still play, even, though I never even got into it beyond the first couple levels).

[Aleax]

will wow end? yes. whether by greed or just ending the story (we all know it will be greed), wow will end. until then blizz can keep writing new stuff and stories. keep in mind all the stories that were made before wow still had to be made up. there is nothing stopping new stories from being made.

And greed is on the way with the incoming next xpac $$ preorder "deluxe" and "super deluxe" editions.

I guess the WoW universe could be 'rebooted' the way that FF11 was remade as FF14?

Not needed imo.

Could a WoW 2 be eventually made?

I hope not. +still not needed imo.

Will the expansion after Shadowlands be the last before WoW is finally done?

Blizzard have many stories to be told in WoW still, really, as long as there are consumers that is, so no I think there will be other xpacs after Shadowlands.

[LemonDemonGirl]

Everquest has 24 expansions, and came out in 1999. It's 21 years' old, and still going at this time (I have friends who still play, even, though I never even got into it beyond the first couple levels).

21? Damn it's almost as me lol. I'll edit the op post so it's more correct.

It also got a small 'reboot/sequel' (at least that's what the wiki tells me) as Everquest 2. I'm actually playing it now, and it seems pretty good for a game that's from a time when WoW was brand new

[FrostyMage]

Yea if EQ can make it to 20 years then I think WoW can go beyond that. WoW expansions still sell very well and it's probably still the most profitable MMO on the market. I also think the game will go free to play before it's shut down. With more emphasis being put on microtransactions. To further cut costs you could realistically probably close down 90% of those dead servers. I fully expect WoW to still be active in 10 years.

[Aerisot]

All things eventually come to an end, but lets face it Ultima Online and Runescape are still going, so WoW will be with us forever, it will just be frozen in time, and a new game must be crowned king.

[FelPlague]

Think about it. A lot of 'mysteries' and things we haven't seen yet until now have been covered, and eventually, all of Azeroth will have been 'explored' story-wise, so to speak. There might not be anything left to make an entire expansion for, and maybe Blizzard will just release patches for the game?

But then I think of games like Runescape and Everquest which have had like 20 or so (might not be 100% correct) expacs, and as far as I know they're still going strong. I guess the WoW universe could be 'rebooted' the way that FF11 was remade as FF14? Could a WoW 2 be eventually made? Will the expansion after Shadowlands be the last before WoW is finally done?

yes, everything ends, nothing is infinite so yes it will end.

[Razion]

Fantasy settings are only limited by imagination. Music Dimensions. Plasma Titans. Blood Moons... like, really, we can make a nearly infinite list of nouns and have enough material to work with until we're all blue in the fingers from typing so much. Instead of 'running out of material', a more realistic situation of a WoW 2 would probably be if the people making WoW just wanted to make a new kind of WoW.

It's common on MMO-C to see a post about some old guard member who has been there for ten plus years suddenly leaving, but it's a lot less common to see a post about someone who used to work on WoW coming back to work on it. So maybe the burnout on WoW 1 is kind of real, in that sense. It's probably the situation I think that probably bears the most evidence, barring something like Warlords of Draenor happening again and them literally deciding it isn't profitable to do anymore and deciding to start a new game from scratch.

And maybe making a WoW 2 could even be beneficial for the people making it, as maybe it brings back people who still like WoW but just wanted to work on a new iteration of it. Even in the case of them making a WoW 2, it's possible they could decide to have a team keep working on WoW 1 kind of like how Everquest did. And, in a way, we do kind of have that going for WoW right now with Classic. It wouldn't be unheard of if each separate client of WoW were profitable for them to keep expanding it.

[matrix123mko]

The story won't end in satisfying end. They likely don't have secret plan of delivering final expansion. Even old Anduin is likely something they will sell soon.

The story will simply end when they run out of money. Then, if anything, they can release a final novel, or just a note that explains the end of WoW universe.

[callipygoustp]

I realize this isn't a "WoW is dying" thread but it still made me think about the board room meeting in which someone suggests ending WoW while its still profitable. How quickly can board members be replaced? (rhetorical question)

[enigma77]

I want WoW 2.

There's no joy in continuing the same story forever.

We need a new beginning.