For the MMORPG community, the impact of World of Warcraft cannot be understated. Now, players can look forward to the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth expansions, as revealed by Blizzard Entertainment at BlizzCon 2023. This trilogy will be part of what is known as World of Warcraft: The Worldsoul Saga, with the first expansion being The War Within.
As part of the keynote, the acclaimed Chris Metzen came on stage in his new role of executive creative director of the Warcraft franchise to share the good news. Looking forward, he called the trilogy “the culmination of the first 20 years of our storytelling” which will “vector us into the next 20 years of adventure.”
World of Warcraft: The War Within will see adventurers venture beneath Azeroth, where they will meet with Nerubians and the new race of Earthern Dwarves. There will be a bunch of new zones as well, and the new activity called Delves which is all about treasure hunting. Like-minded players can also join together in War Bands, which should come in handy for the new dungeons and raids.
Seeing Anduin and Thrall in the new cinematic definitely stirred up emotions, and when discussions turn towards visions and a mysterious voice calling out to them, the focus is shifted to that gigantic sword that was plunged into Azeroth by Sargeras. It is likely we will finally have some closure about that particular aspect of the lore in World of Warcraft.
As for the other two expansions, details are predictably scarce, but at the very least, we know their names. World of Warcraft: Midnight will take place in Quel’thalas, where Void forces have invaded and are trying to destroy the Sunwell and plunge the world into darkness. On the other hand, World of Warcraft: The Last Titan brings the action to Northrend, where the Titans have returned and players will have to find out more about their intentions.
We can expect more details to come out of BlizzCon 2023, but for now, we have a clearer picture of the future of World of Warcraft, and it will start with The War Within in 2024.
Jake is a full-time trophy hunter and achievement gatherer on consoles, and part-time Steam Sale victim. He has a thing for Batman and awesome statues, and running out of space for both. Send help.
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