Many players doubt that Shadowlands was really supposed to have just 2 patches. But the WoW chief firmly states: Yes, that was always the plan.
In World of Warcraft, Patch 9.2, Eternity’s End, has just launched. But this not only ends the Eternity, but also the saga surrounding Shadowlands. This is the final chapter of the expansion. In an interview, the WoW chief explained that this was indeed always intended – even if many players see it quite differently.
What’s going on with WoW? The wait for new content in WoW is over, because the new patch is being released today. But ever since Blizzard announced Patch 9.2, it has been clear to many players: Shadowlands has been trimmed. Actually, at least one more patch was planned, and Blizzard has “condensed” the expansion because it was so unpopular.
But the WoW chief insists: That wasn’t the case.
Who is speaking? Ion Hazzikostas, the Game Director of World of Warcraft. He is essentially the “WoW chief” and bears the responsibility for the larger decisions of the game. In an interview with VentureBeat magazine, he spoke about Patch 9.2 – and also about whether everything really went according to plan.
What did Hazzikostas say? The colleagues from VentureBeat asked whether there were ever plans for Patch 9.3 and whether this was a “similar situation as back in Warlords of Draenor,” where it would later be found that much content was cut. Hazzikostas replied:
This was always the plan. I have seen many speculations from content creators and others that Anduin was originally planned as the final boss of Patch 9.2 and that there should be a separate Patch 9.3. But no. It was always a story in three parts. The plan was always to explore the four areas of the Shadowlands, dive into the Maw, discover the power of domination, and then journey to the land of the First, Zereth Mortis.
He further explains that there would also be hints of this in the game that can easily be recognized.
We planned the [design] of the city of Oribos long before the release of Shadowlands. There is this large gate, this mysterious portal in the Chamber of the Soulkeeper, which we always knew would eventually lead to Zereth Mortis. The pace and structure of the story is something that doesn’t necessarily have a fixed formula.
Hazzikostas further explains that additional patches sometimes distracted from the main story:
Sometimes in the past we had a mid-tier patch that felt more like a digression. It was like, “Okay, now we fight against Lei Shen and the Mogu in the middle of Pandaria, and then we go back to the Garrosh storyline.” Here in Shadowlands, in the realm of the afterlife, the Jailer was always the focus, and the hunt for the Jailer is the only thing we should really be concentrating on. The story went as intended, and I can’t wait for players to see the resolution of that in a few weeks.
What do you think? Do you believe Hazzikostas’ statements? Or does that just sound like “PR talk” to you?
