With the sale--do you think WoW is moving into maintenance mode after 9.2?

[RobertMugabe]

You know ATVI biggest money maker are COD and King's game right?
It's like delusional HotS players that think Microsoft bought ATVI for its moba.

More like delusional people such as you thinking they would stop developing WoW for no reason whatsoever.

[Miffinat0r]

More like delusional people such as you thinking they would stop developing WoW for no reason whatsoever.

The only delusions here I see is a group of WoW fans convinced that Activision's lead profit horse was...wait WoW? Lol.

From what I see here is that MS wanted King most of all. In the investment announcement it was clear mobile gaming was their chief motivation. Then CoD is the second money maker for the company. Having that, combined with Halo under it's belt now MS can properly compete with Sony as they're now only 2 slots behind them if this deal goes through.

WoW is a money maker, I don't deny that. But out of all the Blizzard IPs WoW is probably the only one who's standing at this moment, and quite frankly given I work in a corporate environment the news and tweets from leadership about their IPs is disingenuous. Especially given that on the quarterly's their MAUs count you twice if you played WoW once and then HS once, so engaging in what an actual $$$ that WoW is generating is rather difficult because well it's obscured and then tied back to in-game store sales.

I think the issue I see here with regards to this thread is that people are overestimating WoW's value. If Blizzard wasn't tied to Activsion, MS wouldn't even be looking at them I'd wager.

I should also clarify that maintenance mode would only apply to after 9.2. That's not to say you won't get a 10 release, but it's holding off until the deal is complete.

I do think a few shakeups are coming once Bobby is out though. I can't imagine how WoW fares with the token system and the gamepass system. I know ESO has a sub, and is in the gamepass, but they don't have any device like the WoW token. I'm willing to say I do think MS when they bring their corporate people over they're going to be talking about Statements of Work, Delegation of Authority, Guardrails and controls to increase QA...that type of stuff. But I do also believe MS would mention to the WoW team you had 12 million subs, you're now at 4 on a good day, 2 on average, what happened?

[infinitemeridian]

WoW has been on maintenance mode since BFA.

[pacotaco]

I know the deal was just announced but do you think they'll halt working on 10 until MS can evaluate the buy? I know 9.2 is actively being worked on right now, but I feel like 10 expansion may not have the same level of support, and could lead to a delay while the company evaluates the IP.

Probably the opposite. Maybe they can even rescue OW2 from DevHell, and resurrect HotS so they can get a MOBA on the catalog.

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I do think a few shakeups are coming once Bobby is out though. I can't imagine how WoW fares with the token system and the gamepass system. I know ESO has a sub, and is in the gamepass, but they don't have any device like the WoW token. I'm willing to say I do think MS when they bring their corporate people over they're going to be talking about Statements of Work, Delegation of Authority, Guardrails and controls to increase QA...that type of stuff. But I do also believe MS would mention to the WoW team you had 12 million subs, you're now at 4 on a good day, 2 on average, what happened?

Society changed, there's more offer of games, etc.
It's like going to an arcade and asking: "man, you had hundreds of kids 30years ago, how did you fuck-up?"

[Khaza-R]

I should also clarify that maintenance mode would only apply to after 9.2. That's not to say you won't get a 10 release, but it's holding off until the deal is complete.

You think a company who's about to be sold is going to tank its profitability before the sale?

Until the ink dries they have to keep making money. Or else MS might want to re-negotiate that 70 billion into something lower.

[Maljinwo]

No


/thread

[Sucralose]

I was going to say no... but it very well could be going into a soft "maintenance" mode. While im sure so much work has already gone into the next expansion that very few changes could be made we are seeing a changing of leadership at blizzard. The idea they wouldn't pause and reevaluate all of their properties isn't outragous.

It would most likely be after the buy out in 2023 and in the next expansion for the expansion after mind you.

[T-34]

I should also clarify that maintenance mode would only apply to after 9.2. That's not to say you won't get a 10 release, but it's holding off until the deal is complete.

Why should WoW be put on maintenance mode?
If we take the first 3Q of 2021 then:
Blizzard has made 1,4 billion US$ in revenue.
King has made 1,9 billion US$ in revenue
https://investor.activision.com/news...2021-financial

Furthermore each of the Q so far in 2021 have shown the highest quarter revenue for Blizzard in all its history...
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/c...izzard/revenue

Blizzard has more games in its portfolio than WoW, but King also has more games in its portfolio than Candy Crush.
If we should follow your "logic" then you should ask as well if it is time to put Candy Crush in "maintenance mode".

Remember:
That you don't like a product, that your friends don't like a product, that a product has bad press does not automatically mean that the product isn't profitable.
There are millions of people that aren't you or your friends. And there are millions that don't read press or don't give a flying f... about it.

Please make an argument based on economics, because no sane capitalist will stop investing in a product that is profitable.

Added:
I personally think that apart from WoW and Diablo I and II then all other Blizzard games are shit, but that doesn't mean that they can't be profitable.
Blizzard and MS aren't in the business to make "good games", "make a good product", "respect their customers", "listen to feedback", they solely exist to make a profit for their stockholders.

[Vampyrr]

Don't give so much credit to those hawks. I doubt they give a crap about the Sylvanas story (or even WoW as an asset in whole necessarily).

They see numbers on a sheet and think Activision has profit to them.

Not just talking about Shadowlands but the name Warcraft itself has a lot of power behind it. You can talk to someone who has never touched a blizzard title and mention Warcraft and they will generally know what you are talking about. That is a lot of brand recognition.

[Villager720]

Microsoft has been reviving and adding new content to multiple old Age of Empires games, of all the random "dead" franchises - and doing it well.
Maybe they'll try to salvage WC3 or HotS too. I honestly don't know what to expect except that Bobby is leaving.

[epigramx]

Not just talking about Shadowlands but the name Warcraft itself has a lot of power behind it. You can talk to someone who has never touched a blizzard title and mention Warcraft and they will generally know what you are talking about. That is a lot of brand recognition.

As much as hearing 'Starcraft' and you've never played it. It's just another game to their ears as many others; and the non-gaming reporters were obvious what they thought was the most important; Call of Duty and Candy Crash.

Candy Crash.

[Dch48]

We saw the fruits of the Activision merger fairly quickly in wrath

I'm not sure if that's meant to be a positive or negative comment. To me it's a positive since Wrath was WoW at it's finest. So, taken that way, this sale should be great for the game.

[cparle87]

Silly thread after silly thread today.

70 billion dollar operation.
One of the most profitable franchises in existence.

Maintenance mode.

lol

Especially when it's been pointed out that MMOs with way fewer people, like EQ, is still getting new xpacs. This whole "maintenence mode" fascimile is one of the most baffling conspiracy theories. According to some folks WoW has been on maintenence mode since Cata.

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This feels like someone screaming for proof of round earth or climate change tbh.

We have it. It's been scientifically proven.

What hasn't been proven is the guy I was quoting statement. In fact it's something neither he nor I have any evidence about, so even bringing it up as an argument is fallacious.

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No, I don't.

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One day I'll figure out how to hack the Blizzard servers like these other people and get the sub count lol

ikr? I know there's a specific name for the fallacy of using information no one in the discussion has as an argument, one day I'll find it.

Imagine one guy screaming "The government is broke! Fort Knox has gotta be empty!" Neither he nor I know how much gold is in Fort Knox so neither of us can make educated arguments.

[epigramx]

They might actually stall a little before 10.x release. The design might be already done, but I suspect Microsoft would want their hands on that release.

[thunderdragon2]

could any1 answer this question for me please as im struggling to find a answer myself.

with this sale why do i see Microsoft adding wow to the xbox games pass them making signing up to that games pass a requirement to play wow?.

[Kiivar86]

could any1 answer this question for me please as im struggling to find a answer myself.

with this sale why do i see Microsoft adding wow to the xbox games pass them making signing up to that games pass a requirement to play wow?.

Do you need it to play the Elder Scrolls Online?

(I legit don't know, from searching I don't think so?)

[thunderdragon2]

Do you need it to play the Elder Scrolls Online?

(I legit don't know, from searching I don't think so?)

i dont know i dont have the games pass as i dont own a xbox im just hoping its not made a requirement

[Gadzooks]

Not uncommon in business for competitors to buy out the competition solely to shut the competition down and for multiple reasons.

Nobody here can even pretend to know what Microsoft's plans are.

Microsoft has no competitor to WoW, that they would need to shut down WoW for. If anyone would be in a position to do that, it would be Nintendo.

[Kiivar86]

Microsoft has no competitor to WoW, that they would need to shut down WoW for. If anyone would be in a position to do that, it would be Nintendo.

Technically speaking, as Microsoft owns Betheda, they thus own Elder Scrolls Online, a competitor.

[Akta]

Technically speaking, as Microsoft owns Betheda, they thus own Elder Scrolls Online, a competitor.

If any the one being shut down would be ESO