Will we still get Wrath Classic

[munkeyinorbit]

I think they're more likely to mothball retail than classic. Once they get through wotlk they can just keep recycling that content ad nauseum.

Retail is a continuous revenue stream. They are more likely to mothball classic. They won't of course but to mothball your premium game is ridiculous.

[Daish]

you might get a Lego World of Warcraft

[TheHodedOne]

Yes, MS deal won't affect anythinig till 2024 at the aerliest. Maybe they will put Overwatch 2 on xbox only and thats all

[munkeyinorbit]

This is the only answer you need.

The ROI on Classic is always worth it. And that's completely ignoring them adding monetization to it like boosts and CEs.

Not to mention the shop. The shop was in WotLK so all of those mounts and let's in retail may make an appearance.

[DarkAmbient]

WotLK was when their sparklepony experiment flooded their offices with cash, and when their monetisation really took off. 100% chance Wrath Classic is happening.

[oplawlz]

Retail is a continuous revenue stream. They are more likely to mothball classic. They won't of course but to mothball your premium game is ridiculous.

Right, I mean they're not going to stop either, but retail actually costs a lot of money to produce. Once they finish wotlk they can just keep recycling classic servers and it's pure profit.

[Kralljin]

They are more likely to mothball classic. They won't of course but to mothball your premium game is ridiculous.

Sorry, but that is just false.

Classic can easily adapt a seasonal model similiar to D3 and launch a new server on a yearly basis with minimal changes, that only takes a skeleton crew to maintain.
Meanwhile, Retail requires over like 200 people to develop new content and (as seen currently) still struggle to get content updates out on a consistent basis.

I'm not saying they'll mothball Retail, but Classic is so easy to maintain that it would utterly stupid to shut it down.

[czarek]

Its re-realese. They already have ready tools for it. Its extra money. Development dones not need much effort to make it. So yes.

[roboscorcher]

Would you be too disappointed if Shadowlands is way more popular than classic?

I want both versions of the game to be fun. For retail, that means giving us reasonable grinds. Grinds can be long and challenging, but time-gating for no reason is BS. And frankly, retail has way too many grinds for fresh or returning players. Even for max-level characters, there are way too many required progression paths, and almost no catch-up mechanisms.

I also want both dev teams to focus on sub counts instead of cash shop purchases. Whales will only generate profits for so long.

[Konteil]

OP is making a stupid question since no one here works at blizz, so he gets a stupid answer

op asked for a public opinion on a forum he belongs to. last i checked that was ok to do.

[Alydael]

I know i cant be the only one wondering this. With Microsoft now having control over acti/blizz in the near future, do you think they will continue to work on legacy projects? i have been hoping for a while now for classic servers for various expacs and have been excited for eyars now for a wrath server. Will Microsoft let them keep making classic servers or do you think they will stop them and only move foreword with retail?

I don't know what they will do but I suspect they will end the current model. I think Blizz just used to current model to keep sub numbers up during content droughts. I don't think MS will be concerned with that.

I think MS will turn them into complete one off games and put them in the X Pass. For example there would be four WoWs: Retail, Classic, BC, WOTLK. Classic, BC and WOTLK will all be separate titles that (basically) receive no updates. If, I think the time is right and I have a good idea for it- I might update one and have an event like "season of mastery" (but a lot better- I would actually add stuff, not just tinker with numbers). I don't think they would be on going (like now).

If I really had control- I would end WoW with SL. Redo classic (majorly) and relaunch WoW as classic (new engine) when I take over as MS, with added stuff as well. I would then take the game in a totally different direction after classic and keep the game true to its roots. I would leave the current four on the game pass but not update them and would consider them "WOW- Act/Blizz era" and my relaunch would be "WOW 2.0- MS Era."

I think they need a clean break- there was way too much bad press the last two years. I also think that a lot of the bad design choices have "piled up" over the years and the game really needs a clean reboot.

[roboscorcher]

The biggest problem about grinds in WoW is not the time gating issue, but that they are unfun. Unlike raid ids or mythic dungeon keystones, which also limit time effort, yet feel way more organic than a renown cap. The devs followed a bad path time gate artifcially and not organic anymore, leading to the daily chore impression rather than playing the game for fun. Also, the devs have no reason to add fun content, they just have to add something to get players to login regularily, which leads to their illusion players are engaged, while many just quit short after an expac release. Which is the direct result of unfun gameplay.

I agree, but grinds are not time-gated all the time.

The game *artificially* blocking you for x time IS time-gating.

Grinding mythics for gear is NOT time-gating.

Waiting a week for a Zereth Mortis perk to unlock IS time-gating.

Farming TBC heroics for badges and rep is NOT time-gating.

Only getting 1 chance per day to farm a dungeon IS time-gating.

Waiting 1 day for your followers to complete a mission IS time-gating.

Waiting 1 week for the next renown tier to unlock IS time-gating.

Waiting 1 week to farm soul ash IS time-gating.

Waiting months to attempt Mage Tower again IS time-gating.

[MrLachyG]

Did they even plan to release WotLK classic yet?

AFAIK they never talked about it.

They almost certainly will.

[Gaidax]

Once again, Microsoft deal does not mean Microsoft will roundhouse kick Blizz HQ doors down and start flipping shit 180 degrees, especially when it works fine.

By the time Microsoft deal finalizes, WoTLK Classic will be a thing already AND EVEN if it would not - it would still be down to Blizzard to do it, MS would not stop it, because there is 0 reason to especially since it's pointless micro.

[Gratlim]

Ofc we will get it, Classic has been a huge success, Microsoft are not idiots, they obviously see this.

I think classic has been a huge success. But BC Classic has been a failure. I always thought WotLK Classic would come, but seeing what happened to server pops in BC Classic, i am not so sure anymore. Dungeon finder could make Wotlk work were BC failed though (what i mean by that = taking away the meta player factor for pugs by removing the possibility for players to discriminate non optimal specs). And wrath babies are nostalgic as well. To be fair Ulduar, ICC and Northrend were pretty awesome.

[Wries]

Wrath Classic is a mountain of money just waiting to be collected. Microsoft, believe it or not, also likes money.

[T-34]

The fact that Blizzard after the release of Classic continued with TBC Classic and Season of Mastery strongly suggests that they were successful commercially.
Why on Earth shouldn't Blizzard continue with Wrath Classic?

Just look at all the small MMOs chugging along.
No one is shutting Everquest down.
I mean Ultima Online is still active.
Those wouldn't exist if they weren't profitable.
Why should Blizzard throw "free" money away?

[Dellis0991]

I don't know....will they?

[TheHodedOne]

In 2 or 3 years Classic servers (Vanilla, TBC, WotLK) are going to have more players than retail WoW.
In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard puts all WoW in maintenance mode with only seasons every few months, like Diablo and begins working in a new MMO, (just like they tried with Titan half a decade ago). And now that Microsoft is going to have his nose in this, I also wouldn't be surprised if WoW 2 happens in 4 or 5 years.

[PedroloGeo]

Blizzard wont go to MS hands until mid 2023, then some months will have to pass if MS is gonna make changes in Blizzard and some more months / years until this changes become live games. If WotLK classic depends on MS then it is at least 2.5 to 3 years away. With luck humanity will have nuked itself or will have destroyed the climate by then and noone will be there to play.