Housing in World of Warcraft is getting big – really big. It could become the biggest feature of all time, according to the Game Director.
Currently, the ongoing 20th anniversary of World of Warcraft has somewhat taken a backseat, and there are instead many discussions about a feature of the upcoming expansion: Player Housing. Although many details are still unclear, a few specifics have been revealed in recent days.
Where does the information come from? From various interviews that Game Director Ion Hazzikostas has given in recent weeks. This includes a YouTube video with Taliesin&Evitel, as well as an interview on Eurogamer.
Housing in planning for 5 years
How long has there been a dream of housing? The fact that housing is really coming to World of Warcraft is not a new development. The original decision for it was likely made back in 2019, as Hazzikostas explains:
[Housing] is something that we started serious planning for in terms of design and implementation about 5 years ago. We already knew that this would not be a feature that could fit into the development timeline of a single expansion, so we planned accordingly.
Blizzard understands that housing cannot just be “okay” – it must meet the expectations of the fans. After all, some have been waiting for this feature for almost 20 years, and the expectations are high:
I believe that everything we do has to be great, but especially for something with so much anticipation and so much history in the MMO genre like housing. We know it has to be excellent [and] it will be the foundation for many more years of development and growth.
The fact that housing is being announced about a year before the release has good reasons. Blizzard wants to check whether their goals and wishes for housing align with those of the community:
We wanted to slightly lift the curtain and give players a glimpse of what awaits them on the horizon. But I think a bit selfishly, we also wanted to provoke discussions within the community about the hopes of what it will be and what it should not be, so that we can check our instincts and make sure we are on the right track with ongoing development.
Was the trailer accurate? Many are wondering whether the teaser trailer for housing matches what will be seen later – the Game Director denies this, but mentions at the same time that it is the biggest feature they have ever worked on:
[It’s not a] 100% accurate representation of what you will see … it captures more the feeling and the spirit behind it. (…) But I claim it is our most ambitious feature that we have ever had in an expansion for World of Warcraft.
Will housing be a permanent feature? Yes. Housing will be introduced with Midnight and is expected to be quite extensive, but it will continue to be expanded in upcoming addons. Although no details are known yet, it is likely that developers will transform new assets from the expansions into items that you can also use in your house. However, how exactly that will look can only be shown over the coming years. In a survey, we wanted to know from you what features housing definitely needs.
