Here is a short summary of announcements in BlizzCon:
New Hero Xalatath added to Heroes of the Storm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kMhUVz4q5I
Diablo Netflix series. (More in works/plans)
StarCraft Dominion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQUtOQXYgQ
Overwatch new hero Doctrine:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5dwH7nx9do
Diablo 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxCN_AKYtts
Heartstone new expansion Reign of the Black Empire Cinematic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imZ4rqFbHFc
Heartstone new class Monk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY2_pygsg1k
Next part of World Soul saga World of Warcraft: Eclipse:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlJZzTcHrH0
Next WoW expansion. World of Warcraft: The Last Titan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Xb5PhF5pc
“Wow: Classic+”, World of Warcraft: Forever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQuKE0KDgiM
Warcraft 3 DLC, Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1kXClUCyuA
WoW Forever is…interesting. Definitely not for me, but curious to see where it goes.
It seems like a tacit acknowledgement that the modern game has been a series of missteps, so they’re going back to basics and starting over. Just a big redo with different decisions and lessons learned.
I just can’t help but look back on the “You think you do, but you don’t” statement about classic WoW, and now they’re basically putting their entire future into it.
It’s not that weird of a concept I think, RuneScape has been doing it for ages. There’s Runescape 3, and Old School Runescape which is getting new updates and content to match the old style. I’m not surprised WoW is going for that considering how much nostalgia people have for the old game.
I don’t think retail was a misstep when it comes to milking whales, it’s just not a compelling MMO. So to them, it’s remained a massive success.
I’m also curious about WoW: Forever, mostly because I’ve been hopeful that any studio would see the hype around classic wow and realize there is demand for the old format of MMOs; back before all modern conveniences were added to remove any friction between players. I’ve longed for an experience akin to vanilla, but completely new and unsolved and populated by people who just want to experience organic player interaction.
I know it will have micro transactions, but hopefully they won’t add in group finder, fast leveling, etc. as that would completely ruin the game.
Ideally you want a game that can both milk whales and isn’t hemorrhaging players nonstop. Maybe the whales keep paying, but there’s a reason they stopped publishing subscriber counts about 10 years ago.