Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2023 that World of Warcraft's next three expansions will be part of a larger narrative called The Worldsoul Saga. To learn more, IGN had the chance to speak to WoW vice president Holly Longdale and Warcraft SVP & general manager John Hight about why the team chose to make this saga three expansions and why it's going to be a bit like the MCU.
We began by discussing the decision to develop and announce not one, not two, but three expansions for World of Warcraft. As it turns out, it was a combination of the game's upcoming 20th anniversary and a big idea from Warcraft executive creative director Chris Metzen, who just recently rejoined the company.
"Honestly, when Chris Metzen returned to us is when we started that process," Longdale said. "It was essentially this bubbling up of this passion around the 20th anniversary being almost upon us and a thought that it’s time to change the conversation. Make some big bets. Let’s take World of Warcraft in a direction that we may not have imagined in the past.
"And you throw something like that at someone like Chris Metzen and the team, and they came back to both of us with this idea that The Worldsoul Saga will be an incredible epic story and we wouldn’t be doing it justice if we tried to do it in one expansion. And then we were talking about two expansions and then we’re like, yeah, that wouldn't cut it either."
And that, in a very abridged way, is how The Worldsoul Saga became three expansions. There is also an added benefit to this strategy for the players, as Longdale says it will also, assuming all goes well, keep the wait times between expansions a lot shorter.
The WoWCU a.k.a World of Warcraft Cinematic Universe
So, we are getting a big saga that tells part of a larger narrative. As all this was being presented, we really began to think of the MCU and how it does the same thing with its stories. As it turns out, our thinking was very much on the right track.
"We actually did kind of talk about it," Hight said when we asked about comparisons to the MCU.
"We did," Longdale responded.
"As reverence, because for us it was we felt we needed to really establish with our players like, yes, we are serious about this story, we have a plan for this story, and we are committed to it," Hight said. "One thing I want to say, and it’s important for everyone to know, is that you can jump in whenever you want. You don’t have to start with War Within.
"If you, for whatever reason, somehow miss it next year, please don’t. But if you do, you can jump in with Midnight, or you can even come in at the end with The Last Titan. We’re telling these as distinct pieces, but they all tie together in this overarching story. And we wanted players to know, we’re committed. We’re going to do this thing, and we’d like for them to join us on this journey."
"This team has never planned anything this far in advance, so it’s bringing a lot of detail and a lot of incredible passion into how we deliver on this 20 years of World of Warcraft. It's really paying homage to our past and creating a new beginning," Longdale added. "The team is effervescent at this point because we know where we’re going for a good period of time, and to be able to lean into it and create the threads between, like the MCU, that’s in essence what we’ll be building."
World of Warcraft's The War Within expansion will be released in 2024, and it will be followed by Midnight and The Last Titan. The War Within will take players to subterranean kingdoms within Azeroth where Nerubians and an Allied race called the Earthen Dwarves dwell. It will also see the promised return of former talking knife Xal'atath, new zones like Azj-kahet, Isle of Dorn, The Ringing Deeps, and Hallowfall, a new treasure hunting adventure activity called Delves, an account-unifying feature called War Bands, and new dungeons and raids.
Midnight will take players to Azeroth's "Old World" in Quel-thalas, where Void forces have invaded and are trying to destory the Sunwell in hopes to send the world into an age of darkness. The Last Titan will place in Old World's Northrend region, which was previously the staginf ground for Wrath of the Lich King. In this final expansion, the titans will return to Azeroth and players will "uncover a vast conspiracy" about them and their intentions.
For more, check out our round up of all the biggest news out of BlizzCon 2023 and the news of World of Warcraft: Classic adding the Cataclysm expansion.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
