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[adamsapple]

Could World of Warcraft finally come to console? The MMO's executive producer says "we talk about it all the time"

World of Warcraft exec says it's "pretty well positioned" to finally bring the MMO to console

www.gamesradar.com

"It's a complicated question. And to your earlier point, for a console audience, the approachability is likely going to be different."

"Right now, we're focused on the Worldsoul Saga. But if that comes up then we'll reexamine things but, man, we've got enough to deal with right now," laughs Longdale.

"We've got these three expansions and we are so excited about them. But, yeah, of course. It would be very insincere to say that we're not, like… of course we're talking about that," she chuckles again, before adding: "We are Microsoft now."

Longdale is keen to stress that the Warcraft teams have only had limited interactions with Xbox Game Studios in the weeks since the acquisition was finalized on October 13. When it comes to big questions surrounding World of Warcraft coming to Xbox Series X or even being introduced to Game Pass for PC, it's too early to give definitive answers. "We haven't actually had a conversation yet," she tells me.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Could World of Warcraft finally come to console? The MMO's executive producer says "we talk about it all the time"

World of Warcraft exec says it's "pretty well positioned" to finally bring the MMO to console

www.gamesradar.com

Change Series X to 360 and you've got WoW ready equipment.

 

[Wooxsvan]

just copy final fantasy controls. they do it well enough.

 

[adamsapple]

just copy final fantasy controls. they do it well enough.

Bundle in one of these with every copy of the game

 

[Laieon]

just copy final fantasy controls. they do it well enough.

I've been casually playing WoW on SteamDeck for a good year now. It already has a great unofficial console port, just use that.

 

[Faust]

Until the devs stop designing raids around the use of unofficial mod tools (though to be fair, DF is a step in the right direction), and allow Mythic to be more readily played with a controller (it is doable, but very difficult and can lead to wipes really easily), I don't see this being feasible.

 

[StereoVsn]

Until the devs stop designing raids around the use of unofficial mod tools (though to be fair, DF is a step in the right direction), and allow Mythic to be more readily played with a controller (it is doable, but very difficult and can lead to wipes really easily), I don't see this being feasible.

Could they at least support KBM though to make things easier? Also, Bethesda does have a mod platform already as well if that could be utilized.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

Bundle in one of these with every copy of the game

That looks recent, where is this image from?

 

[Pelao]

Is there really an untapped market for WoW on console?
I mean, it's a 2004 game. Wouldn't every PC and laptop under the sun be able to run it today? I find it hard to believe that there's a significant number of people who aren't playing it simply because it's not on console, but hey, what do I know?

 

[kikii]

Bundle in one of these with every copy of the game

no, ff14 is horrible with control ;P

 

[Mr Reasonable]

That looks recent, where is this image from?

No idea where the picture is from but if you want one searching, "Xbox series chatpad" will take you to them, they're freely available.

 

[March Climber]

Is there really an untapped market for WoW on console?

Yes, and this goes for other MMOs too. It's why more of them are coming to console. It's also why FF14 and ESO are doing so well(especially ESO since the controls were optimized for console).There are a few slightly older MMOs that would have 100% been saved or at least had a longer run if they came to PS4 and XBO because it's a gigantic untapped market.

A huge chunk of people simply don't want to bother playing these games on PC, and would rather play them with controller+mic.

 

[ryzen1]

You can have a shit ton of spells in wow.. How are you supposed to map even a fraction of these spells onto a controller?

 

[drotahorror]

How would you even heal in a raid? In a party I guess you could come up with some bindings on the controller for selecting party members, but no way in a raid.

 

[adamsapple]

That looks recent, where is this image from?

From a recent FF14 event, Sakaguchi busted that out and said that's his preferred way of playing FF14.

 

[Aces High]

I play on console 90% of time and I'm a huge WoW fan.

So I'm a perfect example for the hypothetical target audience.

But even for me, this sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to do.

If porting WoW was a valuable business decision, Bobby would have done it years ago.

Microsoft suits gonna fuck everything up.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Until the devs stop designing raids around the use of unofficial mod tools (though to be fair, DF is a step in the right direction), and allow Mythic to be more readily played with a controller (it is doable, but very difficult and can lead to wipes really easily), I don't see this being feasible.

I don't really think the console players coming to WoW after it's been on PC for 20 years would be the hardcore raider type. They've had 20 years already to raid in WoW if they wanted to.

What I question is how much actual untapped market there is for WoW on Xbox after 20 years of being on PC. If people wanted to play WoW, they would have already. I'm pretty sure nobody has been waiting 20 years for WoW to hit Xbox before getting started.

 

[CamHostage]

I mean, previously there was a time when you would have said, "We're Activision now*", and Activision didn't really need to talk about consoles because of course they were already there, but okay.

(*Yes, I know, Blizzard was snooty in the Activision deal and refused to let itself be associated with Vivendi or Activision, but bought is bought.)

And come to think of it, there was a time before that where Blizzard didn't need to talk about console either because, again, they were already there, but okay.

Not sure why it took 20 years later to talk about WoW on console, but hey, if Xbox can make it happen after all this time, okay.

 

[Mortisfacio]

If they bring WoW to console, cool, but I want an option to not have to play with someone using a controller.

 

[Tams]

2008 wants its game back.

 

[Aces High]

2008 wants its game back.

WoW has more monthly subscribers in 2023 than most modern AAA games have sales.

 

[Faust]

I don't really think the console players coming to WoW after it's been on PC for 20 years would be the hardcore raider type. They've had 20 years already to raid in WoW if they wanted to.

What I question is how much actual untapped market there is for WoW on Xbox after 20 years of being on PC. If people wanted to play WoW, they would have already. I'm pretty sure nobody has been waiting 20 years for WoW to hit Xbox before getting started.

Blizzard may not care directly, but no raider wants to worry about possible issues stemming from console players. This isn’t like FFXIV where the game was designed for console play from the outset.

 

[Freeman76]

They could easily do this, FF14 has 48 skills easily available. I doubt high end content would be managable though. Also, the problem would be PC players would instakick anyone on console, leading to even more of a toxic community.

IF they did it, I think the console version would have to be slightly different

 

[March Climber]

I play on console 90% of time and I'm a huge WoW fan.

So I'm a perfect example for the hypothetical target audience.

But even for me, this sounds like an incredibly stupid thing to do.

How would you even heal in a raid? In a party I guess you could come up with some bindings on the controller for selecting party members, but no way in a raid.

You can have a shit ton of spells in wow.. How are you supposed to map even a fraction of these spells onto a controller?

They were already slowly headed in this direction when they finally added ‘action targeting’ in dragonflight. That was also around the time that rumors started happening about a future console version and people had also found the ‘ABXY’ button images in the game files.

The devs are paid to figure it out and they eventually will. Controller macros are probably the most obvious thing that will happen.

I’m also sure they’ll create some logo to indicate if you’re playing with an Xbox player. Most crossplay games already do this with an icon next to the name. No need to worry too much about things that have already been solved.

 

[Ar¢tos]

You can have a shit ton of spells in wow.. How are you supposed to map even a fraction of these spells onto a controller?

Ff14 gives you 8 "rows" of spell slots with 8 spells each, you change them by pressing 2 buttons (shoulder buttons + dpad?, can't remember)
It's clunky at first, but you get used to it.
In reality, you end up using only 2 rows of spells, a lot of spells are just better/worse versions of the same one.

 

[Aces High]

The question is not if it's possible. Of course it's possible with sequencing macros and auto aim for friendly spells.

The question is if it does damage to the core of the WoW community.

Cross-platform gaming is a pest: You either activate cheat-mode for gamepad users or you dumb down every single gameplay system until it works on all devices.

But tbh, I expect nothing less of Microsoft than sacrificing one of the most profitable cash cows in the history of gaming for the sake of short-term growth. It's how these suits operate. They don't play these games themselves and so they don't give a fuck about the quality.

 

[Xyphie]

Any console player will just become a reject from any group or the game will have to be neutered in terms of the kind of content they make. "LFM +20 Dungeon, have brain, 5000+ RIO, No console players"

Imagine you have an encounter which requires a warlock to quickly throw a Shadowfury on a bunch of adds that spawn to stun them, how do you map something like Shadowfury to work as quickly as a "/cast [@cursor] Shadowfury" macro to a controller?

 

[Goalus]

Cross-platform gaming is a pest: You either activate cheat-mode for gamepad users or you dumb down every single gameplay system until it works on all devices.

But tbh, I expect nothing less of Microsoft than sacrificing one of the most profitable cash cows in the history of gaming for the sake of short-term growth. It's how these suits operate. They don't play these games themselves and so they don't give a fuck about the quality.

Looking at the Steam charts, porting Age of Empires 2 or 4 to console doesn't seem to have hurt the quality of these games, so I call bullshit on your assumption, unless you provide some evidence that this is indeed how these suits operate.

 

[Ozriel]

Is there really an untapped market for WoW on console?
I mean, it's a 2004 game. Wouldn't every PC and laptop under the sun be able to run it today? I find it hard to believe that there's a significant number of people who aren't playing it simply because it's not on console, but hey, what do I know?

we had tens of millions of Roblox downloads on PlayStation right after release, despite it being able to run on bottom tier iGPUs.

Can’t knock convenience, and many don’t game on their PCs

It could potentially open the game up to an expanded audience.

 

[Ozriel]

The question is not if it's possible. Of course it's possible with sequencing macros and auto aim for friendly spells.

The question is if it does damage to the core of the WoW community.

Cross-platform gaming is a pest: You either activate cheat-mode for gamepad users or you dumb down every single gameplay system until it works on all devices.

But tbh, I expect nothing less of Microsoft than sacrificing one of the most profitable cash cows in the history of gaming for the sake of short-term growth. It's how these suits operate. They don't play these games themselves and so they don't give a fuck about the quality.

It took ages before MS brought AoE to console, despite the clamor from fans, and despite having a very stunted first party lineup for years. All because they wanted to ensure no compromise for PC players.

I don’t see any basis for your last paragraph.

 

[Aces High]

AoE is an ultra-low paced strategy game with focus on building. WoW retail is a fast-paced action MMO with focus on movement and quick reactions.

Just google crossplay autoaim and you'll quickly realize that both PC gamers and console gamers hate crossplay.

Crossplay is one of the worst things that ever happened to gaming. Crossplay got hyped in social media by paid Microsoft bots and dumb Xbox fanboys because it was the only way to save Xbox from a "not enough player for matchmaking" disaster. Crossplay is the perfect example of how suits destroy entire gaming communities for the sake of tuning marketing numbers.

 

[Kenpachii]

Would not work in wow unless you dumb wow down completely. Raid groups will straight up kick anybody that play on controllers.

 

[Havoc2049]

Most Microsoft published games on the Xbox Series consoles already support KB&M. Just make it a requirement for WoW. Don't even bother with controller support.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I for one am all for WoW on consoles. I'd almost assuredly never play it that way, but I'd love to have the option to play WoW with my friends and family that are way too intimidated by the prospects of an MMO on a PC. I know I could easily spend a good amount of time with my Dad and Brother-in-law in WoW if it was available. My Pops tried playing WoW with me on his laptop and his hands just wouldn't let him use the kb+m as he'd have liked, but he does ok with controllers.

Would not work in wow unless you dumb wow down completely. Raid groups will straight up kick anybody that play on controllers.

I'd wager that a some could get by with some practice. There's already pretty good choice out there now for controller support in WoW with the right mods/addons. That said, it def. wouldn't be ideal. Controller with certain classes like rogue/warrior/dk would probably do fine, but some of the caster classes wouldn't do well for sure though.

But tbh, I expect nothing less of Microsoft than sacrificing one of the most profitable cash cows in the history of gaming for the sake of short-term growth. It's how these suits operate. They don't play these games themselves and so they don't give a fuck about the quality.

ActiBlizzard has been doing a good job of milking that tit well before Microsoft was on the scene.

 

[DoctorEkkoUK]

I played WoW on a controller during the panda expansion I fully levelled a character and would raid with it and got decentish gear. Obviously I wasn't super competetive but it was okay for a bit of casual fun playing with my friends. I suspect most cosole players will just enjoy questing (most will be new to WoW so its fresh for them) and if they play dungeons it will be with friends also on console. I also wouldn't be suprised if you do get a few hardcore console gamers who get quite good even using a controller especially if they allow custom mapping with holding mutiple buttons etc.

 

[ManaByte]

Change Series X to 360 and you've got WoW ready equipment.

360 could not run the current WoW engine. There’s no RT support on the 360.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

I still wonder how you can implement the controls in WoW. Maybe there is a way.

 

[ManaByte]

I still wonder how you can implement the controls in WoW. Maybe there is a way.

There are still mods to do it. But you won’t be doing Mythic+ or raids with a controller. I play Resto Druid and there’s no way I could heal a keystone dungeon with a controller.

 

[Freeman76]

Looking at the Steam charts, porting Age of Empires 2 or 4 to console doesn't seem to have hurt the quality of these games, so I call bullshit on your assumption, unless you provide some evidence that this is indeed how these suits operate.

It is total bullshit what he said. Diablo 4 is a recent example of how cross platform works wonders for some games.

The problem with WoW will be elitist arseholes who will have a problem with console players. If it has seperate servers for console and pc it could easily work, but that is the only issue with cross platform, the players not the game.

Making console only realms brings up its own issues, as will there be enough players to make it worthwhile. BDO is always packed so I guess so, but who knows.

Also this stupid Series S/X parity could be an issue, I doubt it would run well on the S, by this point the game is huge.

Would they release it up to date, or start from 4 years back and sell expansions 'as they're ready' meaning we miss out on loads of content?

Lots of potential issues with it, but man do I hope the madlads do it

 

[crackajack]

Is there really an untapped market for WoW on console?
I mean, it's a 2004 game. Wouldn't every PC and laptop under the sun be able to run it today? I find it hard to believe that there's a significant number of people who aren't playing it simply because it's not on console, but hey, what do I know?

Similar things can be said about GTA or Skyrim. Some games have a strong pull even years after release, in their tenth remaster.
Or Roblox on PS seems to do well. So yeah, especially if something never was on console there might be a big untapped market.

 

[NEbeast]

I can see the LFGs now. Looking for 6, healer needed, no console plebs.

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

People on here are aware Xbox supports keyboard + mouse right?

 

[RoboFu]

One game pass sub to a play wow could be good for MS.

And yes you can use mouse keyboard on Xbox.

 

[Aces High]

I've been casually playing WoW on SteamDeck for a good year now. It already has a great unofficial console port, just use that.

If it wasn't for the UI, you'd think that you're watching a keyboard turner play the game.

Keyboard-turning means you control the camera with your keyboard instead of the mouse. Players who are new to MMOs often do this because they're overwhelmed by the speed of the endgame and the amount of buttons you need to press. They click the buttons with their mouse and turn the camera with their keyboard.

Camera control is extremely important for melee classes in general and for pretty much everyone in PvP.

Just like with every crossplay-adjusted game, you can fix this either by enabling cheat-mode for gamepad users (autofollow target camera, autosequence abilities) or by dumbing down the gameplay systems (slowing down encounters and combat in general, reducing amount of spells and abilities).

How can people not see that this will do big damage to the existing community?

Imagine losing against a gamepad user because he has demi-godmode active while you have to git gud with m+kb? Or imagine just getting bored to death by the game because every content must be winnable by gamepad users?

 

[LordCBH]

There was nothing stopping them from doing it before.

 

[Tams]

WoW has more monthly subscribers in 2023 than most modern AAA games have sales.

AAA games? Haha, no. You should do some basic research before you comment.

I did so before even my flippant comment. I didn't choose 2008 randomly; that was the year Wrath of Lich King released. Now:

WoW player count 2015-2023 | Statista

In 2015, when Activision Blizzard last reported on World of Warcraft's subscriptions, the game had 5.5 million global subscribers.

www.statista.com

WoW is still absolutely a massive money earner compared to other games with a yearly subscription about the price of two games a year.

 

[Tams]

Looking at the Steam charts, porting Age of Empires 2 or 4 to console doesn't seem to have hurt the quality of these games, so I call bullshit on your assumption, unless you provide some evidence that this is indeed how these suits operate.

Both are shit to play with a controller.

And AoE 4 is just shit in general.

 

[SportsFan581]

When it comes to controller mapping, just do the best you can and be sure to have full mouse and keyboard support. It would be interesting to see how much appeal this title has on console.

 

[Isa]

Yes, and this goes for other MMOs too. It's why more of them are coming to console. It's also why FF14 and ESO are doing so well(especially ESO since the controls were optimized for console).There are a few slightly older MMOs that would have 100% been saved or at least had a longer run if they came to PS4 and XBO because it's a gigantic untapped market.

A huge chunk of people simply don't want to bother playing these games on PC, and would rather play them with controller+mic.

Totally agree! My group just got back into WoW this weekend and were trying to get me to join but I don't have the room. My console does. They too would jump over and are enough ppl to run dungeons. Not only that but we can use keyboard and mouse on console as well.

Console is starving for mp content that is deeper than most pvp stuff, my friends and I are always on the lookout for the next MMO type game that might hit console. My buddies wives also prefer console vastly. I bet MS is approaching or pushing for Blizzard to do it because look at what Sony is getting from the Hoyoverse. I know friends would dump a ton of time and probably money into those games would they hit Xbox.

 

[Magic Carpet]

When does the Quest 3 version get released?