World of Warcraft is expected to grow significantly – this is the goal of the Xbox chief. In 5 years, by 2027, WoW should have significantly “more players than today”. The magic solution is, according to Phil Spencer, “accessibility”.
Blizzard’s big MMORPG, World of Warcraft, is now almost 18 years old. Very few other games remain relevant on the market for such a long time. But the adventures in Azeroth are far from over – at least according to Xbox chief Phil Spencer.
He wants WoW to continue growing over the next few years and by 2027 to reach more players than it does today.
What was said? When asked how to make games like World of Warcraft even more successful, Xbox chief Phil Spencer explained to journalist Stephen Totilo:
Yes, I want more people to be playing WoW in 5 years than are today. I want more people playing Call of Duty in 5 years, more people playing Candy Crush in 5 years, because we made it more accessible for more people.
Why is WoW of interest to the Xbox chief? This is mainly due to Microsoft being in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard and integrating it into the Microsoft ecosystem. The acquisition still needs to be approved by regulatory authorities, but preparations for integrating the Blizzard titles, such as in the Game Pass, seem to already be underway. At least this has been hinted at in a blog post.
Should WoW become casual-friendly and come to more platforms?
What does “more accessible” mean in this context? This can only be speculated. One possible interpretation is that the games will simply be released on more platforms, thus appealing to a potentially larger audience. The games could appear on Xbox or in the Game Pass. At least the console version of WoW is a dream that many players have entertained for years.
A second interpretation could be that the games themselves should be more accessible, meaning that the actual entry into the game could be made easier. World of Warcraft had initiated this just a few years ago with a new tutorial, but hurdles such as the monthly subscription fees could also be implied.
Whether the plans to help World of Warcraft gain more players in 5 years than it currently has will succeed – remains to be seen. After all, by then World of Warcraft will already be 23 years old and will be nearing a quarter of a century.
On the other hand, player numbers in modern WoW have rarely been as low as they currently are with Shadowlands – one of the least popular expansions ever. Surpassing this value in the future will likely be quite easy.
