After 20 Years, World of Warcraft Poses Challenges for New Players, but Blizzard Aims to Improve the Experience

An acquisition problem…

It was in November 2004 that Blizzard offered World of Warcraft, a somewhat revolutionary MMO: the studio probably did not imagine putting such a big kick in the anthill, the game still being very active twenty years later and s 'being considerably enriched through multiple extensions. It is clearly not over, since the software now begins the “Worldsoul Saga”, a brand new arc which will span approximately six years. The first part will revolve around The War Within, the first massive DLC coming this yearwhich further densifies the general content.

But between an MMORPG which has become ultra-imposing, gamers who have been hardened for years and years or graphics which have also aged, it is difficult for Blizzard to win over new players. “We know we have a lot of work to do on acquiring new players, but we haven't focused on that, we focused on retention”vice president and executive producer Holly Longdale told Windows Central.

…despite the loyalty of former players

It's an established fact: WoW now manages to keep players in suspense. The DragonFlight extension, for example, kept more people subscribed than all the previous ones. These retention objectives set by Blizzard have also been beaten, we learn… but as for gaining new users, “it’s a weakness”.

So, how can you attract newbies? “There is work to be done on this”says Longdale speaking “from the gamer's fantasy” that the developers would like to instill. “This is something we want to aim for in the future”. Some players are pointing to the creation of a new tutorial, other than the island of the Borders of Exile currently offered to novices: something more personal, more intimate and more gripping could appeal more to the curious…

Buy the World of Warcraft: Wrath of The Lich King board game on Amazon