After the bug-infested patch 12.0.5, a former Blizzard executive speaks out to explain how to save WoW. Some in the community see him as partly responsible for the worst phases of the MMORPG.
What is the current situation? The enjoyment of the current WoW expansion Midnight is suffering because a whole series of bugs have crept into Azeroth with the recent patch 12.0.5. Entire game modes and systems were temporarily unusable. The problems were so profound that Blizzard had to apologize to the players.
The former Blizzard executive Mike Ybarra took a report on the issues of the current WoW patch as an opportunity to give his assessment of the situation. On X, he states: “Regrettable. WoW needs a reset, and the commitment must be clear and firm, otherwise the decline will continue.” When asked what he meant by a reset and what he would have done when he was in charge of Blizzard, Ybarra adds:
In WoW, it must be about WAR – conflict, combat, risk, reward, success. That is the core of what makes WoW.
“There must always be a Lich King.” I wanted an expansion that returns and addresses why there must always be a Lich King, and takes this story much further. There is so much more to tell!
Invest much more time in raids and new ideas for the CORE gaming target audience instead of casual players.
And finally: WoW 2, instead of constantly rehashing the same WoW 1 expansions in a new guise.
For about 10 years, the team simply hasn’t been there anymore. Since the days of Kaplan and the others, it has changed too much.
Mike Ybarra on X
According to Mike Ybarra, the WoW team needs to reorganize. He believes the focus should be on a new version of World of Warcraft, in which iconic villains like the Lich King can be placed back in the spotlight.
One of the “architects of WoW’s destruction”
How does the community react? While Mike Ybarra has outwardly presented himself as an ambitious gamer who rocks raids and high-level Mythic Plus dungeons, he is also seen as a pioneer of the takeover of Activision by Microsoft and the consequent wave of layoffs that cost nearly 2,000 people their jobs in early 2024 (including Ybarra).
Therefore, it is not surprising that his views are met with little sympathy.
- Pugnadeus EU writes on X: “As president of Blizzard, you mocked Asmongold for not completing heroic or mythic raids while you destroyed the casual experience and tailored WoW to the World First community. You are one of the architects of the destruction of WoW. You have destroyed the game I loved. I resent you for that.”
- DatCoopGuy asks Ybarra on X: “Weren’t you the one who laid off 1,900 people right after Christmas, mainly from quality assurance?”
- Pingu26 shares a similar sentiment on Reddit: “The man who dissolved the firewatch complains that no one is putting out the fire.”
- FrodoFraggins has a clear opinion on Reddit: “He was the worst president Blizzard ever had.”
How does MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz assess Ybarra’s criticism? Diplomatic and well-mannered, as I am known to be, I must say that the former Blizzard chief is talking a lot of nonsense. So don’t get me wrong. I find the theoretical idea of a WoW 2 extremely exciting and I wouldn’t mind a return to the faction war or a comeback of the Lich King.
But it is nonsense to read the downfall of WoW from a bad patch. After the heavily criticized expansions Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands, World of Warcraft has been developing positively for years. Is everything perfect at the moment? Certainly not. Nevertheless, Blizzard is doing a lot of things right with Midnight. Innovations like housing or the comeback of the modernized Silvermoon are very well received.
What Ybarra also overlooks: There are now various WoW versions that appeal to different types of players and provide enough fun to, for example, give successful hardcore events like Sauercrowd a home.
If we consider not only the various WoW versions here in the West but also include the Chinese market, we currently probably have a double-digit million number of regular players. For such numbers, other MMORPG operators would sacrifice a gnome every morning. Therefore, Blizzard has no reason to cannibalize its successful MMORPG with a WoW 2. More on that: How many players does WoW have? New data says: more than ever before
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