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  1. #1

    Next WoW expansion WON'T be announced at BlizzCon 2013

    Because we will already know about it, probably from PAX (they announced Hearthstone at PAX East, just this year) or maybe from SDCC (not as likely). I don't see why so many people are stuck in the 2+ year release schedule when Blizzard have stated many times they want to get patches and expansions out faster. That is the 18 month expansion life schedule and the current rate of patch releases bears it out. 18 months would put the next expansion in late April/early May. In order for that to happen, they would have to have started the beta testing 6+ months before that.

    That said, I look for closed beta to start as soon as late September with the open beta floodgates coming at BlizzCon with the announcement of a new Annual Pass. November is FAR to late for them to announce an expansion for WoW and keep to that schedule, and with 5.4 Siege of Ogrimmar hitting the PTR in the next few weeks, we will see it hit live come late August/early September. There will possibly a patch 5.5 that will prep for the next expansion (which I assume from the in game hints to be a return of the Burning Legion).

    Keep in mind, I don't work for Blizzard, but my best guess based on what Blizzard has said and what they have done so far this expansion cycle. Keep in mind, they just brought back some of the team that was working on Titan to help out with other projects (including presumably, WoW) so that would seem to indicate that they have the developer resources to easily meet an 18 month release target with current assets.

    So if they don't have the Blizzard Xpac to announce, what will there be at Blizzcon? SCII Legacy of the Void, Diablo III expansion, the new direction for 'Titan', and possibly something new and huge (Warcraft IV?).

  2. #2
    Deleted
    I can't handle this anymore Blizzard! Just tell us already!

  3. #3
    The Lightbringer chrisisvacant's Avatar
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    I feel like this title is exceptionally misleading. Could you not title your post something less official sounding?

  4. #4
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    I guess it's possible and you are correct if they do intend to release expansions that much faster. But...
    We know 5.4 won't be the last patch and they pretty much hinted that it won't be the last tier patch either. Plus if they have historically announced each expansion at blizzconn. If they don't, what do they have left? A lot of people go to blizzcon because of WoW. Matter of fact, the last 2 times they didn't have a blizzcon it was because they had nothing to announce for WoW.
    Guess we will have to wait and find out.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Ijoemomma View Post
    A lot of people go to blizzcon because of WoW.
    Sad, but true. Makes the wait till then even more probable.

  6. #6
    Old God Mirishka's Avatar
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    Oh, how I love these psychic threads in which people announce the future with such certainty.

  7. #7
    Is this one of those predict the future theads? Well I'll give it a shot.

    Blizzcon will feature:

    Heathstone launch date announcement.
    Blizzard All-Stars beta announcement.
    SC2 Expansion 2 sneak peak (no beta announcement).
    D3 Expansion 1 sneak peak and possible beta announcement.
    WoW expansion 5 announcement AND because the game will be so far along by that point announcement that beta is happening imminently.
    Nothing about titan.

  8. #8
    I could see Blizzard giving us some kind of teaser before Blizzcon like a trailer or something but none of the real info like zones, dungeons level cap etc until Blizzcon.

  9. #9
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by wolftech View Post
    Because we will already know about it, probably from PAX (they announced Hearthstone at PAX East, just this year) or maybe from SDCC (not as likely). I don't see why so many people are stuck in the 2+ year release schedule when Blizzard have stated many times they want to get patches and expansions out faster. That is the 18 month expansion life schedule and the current rate of patch releases bears it out. 18 months would put the next expansion in late April/early May. In order for that to happen, they would have to have started the beta testing 6+ months before that.

    That said, I look for closed beta to start as soon as late September with the open beta floodgates coming at BlizzCon with the announcement of a new Annual Pass. November is FAR to late for them to announce an expansion for WoW and keep to that schedule, and with 5.4 Siege of Ogrimmar hitting the PTR in the next few weeks, we will see it hit live come late August/early September. There will possibly a patch 5.5 that will prep for the next expansion (which I assume from the in game hints to be a return of the Burning Legion).

    Keep in mind, I don't work for Blizzard, but my best guess based on what Blizzard has said and what they have done so far this expansion cycle. Keep in mind, they just brought back some of the team that was working on Titan to help out with other projects (including presumably, WoW) so that would seem to indicate that they have the developer resources to easily meet an 18 month release target with current assets.

    So if they don't have the Blizzard Xpac to announce, what will there be at Blizzcon? SCII Legacy of the Void, Diablo III expansion, the new direction for 'Titan', and possibly something new and huge (Warcraft IV?).
    Hearthstone wasn't a big announcement since it's not a 'big game', a WoW expac is - it's too big to announce somewhere other than Blizzcon.

    ---------- Post added 2013-06-11 at 08:59 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by purramandakitty View Post
    Is this one of those predict the future theads? Well I'll give it a shot.

    Blizzcon will feature:

    Heathstone launch date announcement.
    Blizzard All-Stars beta announcement.
    SC2 Expansion 2 sneak peak (no beta announcement).
    D3 Expansion 1 sneak peak and possible beta announcement.
    WoW expansion 5 announcement AND because the game will be so far along by that point announcement that beta is happening imminently.
    Nothing about titan.
    This seems more likely than anything, they could easily be halfway/almost done with F&F Testing and heading towards a Beta around Blizzcon.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Ijoemomma View Post
    I guess it's possible and you are correct if they do intend to release expansions that much faster. But...
    We know 5.4 won't be the last patch and they pretty much hinted that it won't be the last tier patch either. Plus if they have historically announced each expansion at blizzconn. If they don't, what do they have left? A lot of people go to blizzcon because of WoW. Matter of fact, the last 2 times they didn't have a blizzcon it was because they had nothing to announce for WoW.
    Guess we will have to wait and find out.
    They hinted that? Source please? Because ill find you the source of them saying the siege is the last tier of this expac.

  11. #11
    Deleted
    xpac 5 beta wont start before 2014 - fact!

  12. #12
    The thing is, Blizz needs to release the next xpac ASAP. Preferably before september, but it is not likely to happen. The longer they wait the more players they'll lose, which they cannot afford at this time. If they do not announce the next xpac on BlizzCon then it needs to happen before blizzcon.

  13. #13
    The Lightbringer Sinndra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wolftech View Post
    That said, I look for closed beta to start as soon as late September with the open beta floodgates coming at BlizzCon with the announcement of a new Annual Pass. November is FAR to late for them to announce an expansion for WoW and keep to that schedule, and with 5.4 Siege of Ogrimmar hitting the PTR in the next few weeks, we will see it hit live come late August/early September. There will possibly a patch 5.5 that will prep for the next expansion (which I assume from the in game hints to be a return of the Burning Legion).
    just kinda curious why you think there will be another AP? i dont see enough content to package together to sell it. the last AP had a mount, a game, and beta access. i only got the last annual pass because of all the extra stuff i got for free, since i had every intention of staying subbed for that amount of time anyway.

    this time around, i dont see any game they could offer, which without something that good makes an AP just kinda blah. and given the heartache that went with trying to let everybody in the MOP beta, it isnt something i care to go thru again. and im sure others feel the same way, albeit for prolly different reasons. i guess there could be a new AP but it just wouldnt be worth it to me this time around, unless they have some really special items to offer.

    and since you mentioned the burning legion, thats another reason right there to not want to pick up the ap, since it would just be a rehash of BC. which for me, was not a fun xpac. and not something i want to revisit.

    To the OP, i doubt they will announce their biggest product at any other convention other then their own. Heartstone is not their biggest product. thus they didnt feel saving it for Blizzcon would be valuable. you can still stay on the 18 month plan AND save the announcement till Blizzcon. they would just be further in the development process then you are thinking. they can start alpha, and even closed beta without officially announcing the xpac. and do an open beta/announcement party all together.
    Last edited by Sinndra; 2013-06-11 at 09:15 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by ablib View Post
    I do realize that this is an internet forum full of morons, however in real life, no one questions me, people look to me for the answer, look up to me, trust me. To have dipshits on a video game forum question me, is insulting.

  14. #14
    why is it all so beautiful this fake dream
    this craziness why?

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by NSrm View Post
    The thing is, Blizz needs to release the next xpac ASAP. Preferably before september, but it is not likely to happen. The longer they wait the more players they'll lose, which they cannot afford at this time. If they do not announce the next xpac on BlizzCon then it needs to happen before blizzcon.
    Before September? I think you mean patch, not expansion.

    Quote Originally Posted by Soaringbiscuit View Post
    You just killed a kitten

  16. #16
    Deleted
    So no WoW, no Titan
    boriiiing

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by wolftech View Post
    Because we will already know about it, probably from PAX (they announced Hearthstone at PAX East, just this year) or maybe from SDCC (not as likely). I don't see why so many people are stuck in the 2+ year release schedule when Blizzard have stated many times they want to get patches and expansions out faster. That is the 18 month expansion life schedule and the current rate of patch releases bears it out. 18 months would put the next expansion in late April/early May. In order for that to happen, they would have to have started the beta testing 6+ months before that.

    That said, I look for closed beta to start as soon as late September with the open beta floodgates coming at BlizzCon with the announcement of a new Annual Pass. November is FAR to late for them to announce an expansion for WoW and keep to that schedule, and with 5.4 Siege of Ogrimmar hitting the PTR in the next few weeks, we will see it hit live come late August/early September. There will possibly a patch 5.5 that will prep for the next expansion (which I assume from the in game hints to be a return of the Burning Legion).

    Keep in mind, I don't work for Blizzard, but my best guess based on what Blizzard has said and what they have done so far this expansion cycle. Keep in mind, they just brought back some of the team that was working on Titan to help out with other projects (including presumably, WoW) so that would seem to indicate that they have the developer resources to easily meet an 18 month release target with current assets.

    So if they don't have the Blizzard Xpac to announce, what will there be at Blizzcon? SCII Legacy of the Void, Diablo III expansion, the new direction for 'Titan', and possibly something new and huge (Warcraft IV?).
    You do realize the whole 18 month thing is bullshit right? They said the same for Cataclysm, and it lasted almost 23 months, so close to two years. Blizzard is the king of misleading consumers to keep them subscribed. Still, April is 10 months away. Now, assuming ToT lasts another 3 months and SoO 6-7 months, an expansion in April does seem possible. MoP has lost them a lot of subs as well, so I think they are looking to move past it and get back to the Warcraft universe a bit more.

    ---------- Post added 2013-06-11 at 02:19 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by bany View Post
    So no WoW, no Titan
    boriiiing
    Also isn't it funny how they announce Titan is being delayed AFTER they sell out their Blizzcon tickets? Lol Blizzard is the king of manipulators.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Kcin14 View Post
    I could see Blizzard giving us some kind of teaser before Blizzcon like a trailer or something but none of the real info like zones, dungeons level cap etc until Blizzcon.
    Idk.. that quick MOP preview made people go nuts..they might of learned their lesson with that.
    "If you want to control people, if you want to feed them a pack of lies and dominate them, keep them ignorant. For me, literacy means freedom." - LaVar Burton.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by wolftech View Post
    So if they don't have the Blizzard Xpac to announce, what will there be at Blizzcon? SCII Legacy of the Void, Diablo III expansion, the new direction for 'Titan', and possibly something new and huge (Warcraft IV?).
    I think they're going to be releasing the title of the next expansion some time this summer. At Blizzcon, we will see expansions for Diablo, Starcraft, and definitely WoW. They'll probably have something to show how much the WoW expansion is progressing, and most likely they'll open up beta at Blizzcon. Additionally, we'll see Hearthstone for sure. Maybe we'll see something about the Warcraft movie as well.

    As for Titan, I doubt we'll see anything. They don't want to give away what they were doing, so they're not going to be like, "Oh, here are some things we had, but decided to not go in that direction anymore." If they do that, they might as well just announce Titan because from the information and pictures they'd show, we'd know at least the basics of what the game is about / where it takes place. Likewise, I doubt we'll see anything about Warcraft 4 as there has been no information whatsoever about it. At the most, they'll say they're going to be starting one and that it won't be ready until at least 2017.

  20. #20
    Elemental Lord
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    Quote Originally Posted by wolftech View Post
    Because we will already know about it, probably from PAX (they announced Hearthstone at PAX East, just this year) or maybe from SDCC (not as likely). I don't see why so many people are stuck in the 2+ year release schedule when Blizzard have stated many times they want to get patches and expansions out faster. That is the 18 month expansion life schedule and the current rate of patch releases bears it out. 18 months would put the next expansion in late April/early May. In order for that to happen, they would have to have started the beta testing 6+ months before that.
    We don't know how long they plan for beta this time. A May release, however, would suggest a 6 month Beta cycle starting around November.

    Which is when Blizzcon is held.

    Personally, rather than assuming Blizzard will make this major announcement at some other show, I'd suggest that they'll simply start Beta testing then as well.

    We get 5.4 and SoO in August/September, leaks and buzz leading up to Blizzcon and an XPac annoucement/Beta test in Sept/Oct/November, 5.5 in December/January, 6.0 in April and a 6.0.3 XPac release in May. That'd give the system a 5 month Beta at least

    (which I assume from the in game hints to be a return of the Burning Legion).
    I think the BL will have a presence. I don't think it'll be a BL focussed XPac with them as the primary villain. Right now, i think Azshara is better placed for that role.

    EJL

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