Shadowlands is considered one of the least popular expansions of World of Warcraft. Apparently, even Blizzard agrees. At the Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2024, there was reportedly a slide where the studio addressed the mistakes made.
How bad was Shadowlands?
- At GDC, Blizzard released real subscription numbers for the first time in 9 years.
- It shows that a low point was reached with just under 4 million players shortly after Battle for Azeroth. Shadowlands, with about 4.5 million players, is just slightly ahead and is considered one of the worst expansions overall according to players.
- Major criticisms included the weak story, long content droughts, and half-baked content. Even MeinMMO demon Cortyn was convinced: Shadowlands cannot be saved.
This is what Blizzard has learned: A picture of the slides that the Korean news site Inven supposedly got directly from GDC shows the conclusion Blizzard has drawn from Shadowlands. The three areas of focus are: Story and Setting, Gameplay, and Community.
According to the slide, some of the biggest problems with Shadowlands were:
- No one knew the Jailer, the main puppet master of the expansion.
- At the same time, known characters had been sidelined or even written out of the story.
- The entire idea of “life after death” was just not accessible.
- Development and content were insufficient and not what players expected.
- There was a lack of variety and the idea of “Borrowed Power” was not well received.
Many of the insights mirror exactly what players criticized during the expansion, especially the confusion surrounding the Jailer. This is itself another point in the findings: Blizzard admits to having had too little contact with the community.
There was not enough transparent communication, and players felt “not heard” – exactly what fans have repeatedly pointed out during the expansion. Blizzard has already hinted at wanting to change that at BlizzCon 2023.
At BlizzCon 2023, it seemed as though Blizzard had managed to win back its fans:
Dragonflight is the beginning of a new era
The current expansion Dragonflight is doing many things differently. The new talents and mechanics like a support spec for the Dracthyr are completely overhauled or new systems. In interviews, the developers have previously revealed: Dragonflight lays the groundwork for future expansions.
At BlizzCon 2023, the next 3 expansions were announced, starting with The War Within, which is set to be released in 2024. The whole idea of the “Worldsoul Saga” is to finally bring loose threads of past stories to a conclusion.
How exactly Blizzard intends to improve gameplay remains to be seen. At least regarding the story, the insights from Shadowlands seem to be paying off.
We already know that many familiar and significant characters will play a big role and the trailer itself features 2 of the most famous heroes: Thrall and Anduin. At BlizzCon itself, Blizzard caused loud cheers with lore father Chris Metzen.
A concrete release date for The War Within is still pending. However, the first tests are already underway and during these, it appears that Blizzard really wants to listen more to players. Even before the general public could play, adjustments were made: The beta of WoW The War Within is not live yet, but Blizzard is already saying: Sorry, we’re changing that
