“A lot of work ahead of us” – Blizzard wants to make World of Warcraft more attractive for new players again

World of Warcraft has amassed a lot of history, lore and features with almost 20 years of existence. A mountain of content that can be overwhelming for newcomers. Blizzard is also aware of this problem and admits that the path for new players into the Warcraft universe needs to be revised.

“How do you tell 20 years of history?”

In an interview with Windows Central Holly Longdale (Executive Producer) spoke about the gaming experience for beginners.

Longdale admits that Blizzard has largely focused on retaining players. “User acquisition is a weakness,” she explains, and the studio has “a lot of work to do there.”

According to Longdale, new games lose interest and drop out in the first few hours of play. Blizzard wants to change that in the futurebut concrete plans on how they want to further motivate newcomers are not mentioned.

However, Longdale reveals a general direction when she asks the question: “How do you tell 20 years of history?” She believes that players lack a connection to their people and the WoW lore. An aspect that should come into greater focus in the future.

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World of Warcraft: Feature trailer shows what awaits you in The War Within

WoW beginners – then and now

Anyone who played WoW for the first time in the mid to late 2000s spent hours questing in the wastelands or the forest of Elwynn, getting to know their own capital and preparing for the first dungeon. Each people had their own starting area.

Today new players land on the Isle of the Exiles, an identical experience for all players in which the core features of the game are learned quickly and straightforwardly. They then play the Battle for Azeroth expansion, which is now six years old.

With the upcoming expansion The War Within the first add-on after the “Beginner’s Island” then become Dragonflight. This suggests that no changes to the gaming experience for beginners are to be expected, at least at the time of release.

You can find out everything there is to know in Dragonflight for the current Season 4 above the linked article. We also have a preview of the new addon The War Within and if you want to try it out for yourself, you can register for the beta. The corresponding articles are also linked in the box.

Do you think World of Warcraft needs a better introduction to the game? What would you change? Feel free to write it to us in the comments.