The beta for World of Warcraft: Forever generated more excited and buzz than anyone expected and with the launch just days away, we chatted with the team about why they think so many gamers are all-in on the promise of WoW: Forever.
WoW: Forever Gives you Permission to Slow Down
VICE recently had a chance to sit down with some members of the World of Warcraft: Forever development team to chat about the upcoming launch and what about it has made it appeal to so many gamers.
VICE: Since WoW Forever has both the ‘spirit of Classic’ and some ‘quality of life changes’ from retail, it makes sense how you can appeal to those separate player bases. I imagine that’s part of the reason why there was such a groundswell around the beta and tons of players pouring into the game. But what about someone who has never played either? As a beta player, it seemed like there were a surprising number of new to MMO or new to WoW players. What do you think it is about Forever that is drawing in a younger generation of gamer who grew up past the MMO peak years?
Kris Zierhut (Principal Game Designer): First, we were really surprised by just how many new players we saw. We can’t talk specific numbers, but there were a lot of new players in the beta who had never played WoW before.
As for what’s drawing them in, I think there were some people in 2019 who thought, ‘I need updated graphics’ or ‘I need the game to look prettier to get into it.’ And now we’ve given them that with the updates to the engine. With water, with dynamic shadows and lighting, with fog, and all the weather effects we’ve done.
Having access to higher definition models and doing things like transmogs, there’s a lot to appeal to people who are looking for that sort of graphical fidelity upgrade.
Also, I think there’s a lot of people who watched their parents or their uncle or aunt play it. And now it’s their turn to be able to get in at the beginning. Nobody has an advantage, nobody knows anything. Even more so than 2019, this is an unsolved game. The people who have played before don’t have such a big advantage over those who are just coming in. It’s the best possible time to come in to World of Warcraft if you’ve never played it, because everyone is getting in at the ground floor. Nobody knows the best way to do things yet and everyone has an equal footing.
And the other thing is that I think there’s a lot of younger gamers who are more hungry for a social game. They’re looking for more community and more friends to adventure together with other people. I think there’s a growing hunger for that in the gaming community.
Josh Greenfield (Senior Game Designer): I think in the last several years, I think gaming has shifted in some ways towards a rapid loop, rapid reward structure, attention economy influenced paradigm.
I think amongst younger gamers or just gamers that are pretty immersed in that, it can get pretty exhausted. Something like WoW Forever where the journey does matter… it’s supposed to be slower paced, it’s supposed to be long tail and it’s not that instant gratifacation loop, that’s something that’s appealing to a lot of people.
For a lot of us that was always the appeal and for some people that’s becoming the appeal. I think we’re kind of having a moment right now in gaming where people are actually looking to go back and turn the clock back. Not just for nostalgia, but for the style of the game.
VICE: That makes a lot of sense. I’ve been thinking about the WoW: Forever beta as my most surprising cozy game of the year. I’ve played WoW for 20+ years and this is the first time I’ve ever used that descriptor for it.
Josh Greenfield (Senior Game Designer): And getting into World of Warcraft 22 years into it is a lot. There’s a lot of history, there’s a ton going on. But having a fresh entry point and starting from square one with the rest of community is always a great moment for people to jump in.
Kris Zierhut (Principal Game Designer): When you go looking on forums, there’s a common thread of people being thankful that we’d given them permission to take their time. They felt like they were allowed and encouraged. You don’t have to rush this. That was very refreshing to see.
Be sure to check back soon for lots more World of Warcraft coverage as the official launch of World of Warcraft: Forever arrives.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC. World of Warcraft: Forever launches on November November 4.
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