‘World of Warcraft’ at 20: Blizzard Team on Milestone Anniversary Plans, Bringing in New Players and the Potential for a Movie Do-Over

variety.com:

Blizzard Entertainment launched its massive multiplayer online addition to the “Warcraft” franchise, and changed the gaming industry forever.

While many MMOs have followed in “World of Warcraft‘s” footsteps and drawn younger audiences into the genre, the power of the game that created a giant customer support team to handle the masses trying to log in to the overwhelmed servers from Day 1 cannot be denied two decades later. “Gaming went from a niche, geek thing to a lifestyle.

And ‘World of Warcraft’ is very much a lifestyle,” “World of Warcraft” executive producer Holly Longdale tells Variety. “It’s not just what you do in game, it’s also out of game.

You’re engaging with your guilds and your friends, or booking time to play with your friends. So how do we reinforce that in a healthy, fun way and get Azeroth in the hands of everyone?” Longdale, who joined game developer Blizzard in 2020, just ahead of Microsoft‘s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, oversees the “WoW” franchise, including the ongoing development of the game’s current expansion, “The War Within,” as well as operation of the “World of Warcraft Classic” game.