World of Warcraft: Play it again, Sam
World of Warcraft: The last quarter has actually been symptomatic of the overall state of the game. There was hardly any talk about Patch 6.2, it wasn’t particularly great. A decent raid, a daily quest zone that reminded everyone of the last one in Mists of Pandaria, and the feeling: “Is that it?”
The decisive thing about the patch is: It is really supposed to be the last patch in Warlords of Draenor.
While some are pleased: “I can’t take Draenor anymore. The sooner we are out of here, the better,” others scratch their heads in disbelief: “And I paid full price for an expansion and keep paying monthly?”
New AddOn: A bit of everything and spicy?
And once again, an AddOn was presented, once again relying on “tried and tested.” The general impression is: They are giving fans what they demand now. Illidan is back, Demon Hunters as a new class, artifact weapons as eye-catchers, and the Legion as an enemy.
When the whole thing will be released is unknown. Summer 2016 seems likely, as the WoW movie is also due to premiere then.
That fans cannot expect new game content until then, even though they pay €12 per month, seems to be given. They have become accustomed to that over the years. The team is likely already working completely on the next expansion, part of it on the next next one, and the paying players are monthly contributing to a future service that they will then have to pay separately for as well. Such an expansion costs money.
But it has long been evident that this status quo has an expiration date.
World of Warcraft needs to come up with new tricks
The subscription numbers have collapsed. At Blizzard, they say player behavior has changed. There are fluctuations. Players come for a patch and leave after seeing everything.
Overall, the last year has really not gone well for World of Warcraft. At Blizzard, they still play by the old rules they established themselves. They continue to use the old tricks.
The problem is: It’s not necessarily the market that is changing; World of Warcraft remains by far the number one. But players and their demands for a game they pay monthly for are changing. Canceling a subscription has become the norm for many when the game does not deliver anything new. And this trend is likely to continue.
When will the turnaround come?
The competition for World of Warcraft is no longer some self-proclaimed “WoW-killers,” but other big titles like League of Legends. They make it clear to players: You only have to pay for what you really want, not for playing, in general.
A philosophy that is also spreading across all other Blizzard titles, but not in World of Warcraft. In the last years, everything in WoW’s game structure has remained the same.
Sooner or later, there will be a turnaround. Blizzard surely has plans for it up their sleeve. They just aren’t revealing them.
