World of Warcraft's State of Azeroth: The Future is Radiant

That WoW State of Azeroth update was one heck of a whirlwind. I was expecting a roadmap and a quick blog post, as usual. Instead, we got a good look at what we have to look forward to now, and also what is on the horizon. Both Holly Longdale, Executive Producer, and Ion Hazzikostas, Senior Game Director, had a ton of intriguing tidbits to pique our interest and speculation. Without further ado, let’s jump right in.

Midnight

The first big thing on deck for World of Warcraft this year is the launch of the Midnight expansion, which is a direct sequel to The War Within. We’ve known for a while that this expansion will launch on March 2nd, and many of the things discussed in today’s update we have also known for a while. For example, Longdale discussed how Midnight’s narrative centers on the Light vs. Void conflict we’ve been building toward, we team up with the Haranir, and now the Devourer Demon Hunters are joining the fight as well.

What was interesting, though, was that she also mentioned that the main themes throughout Midnight and leading into The Last Titan will center on loss, resilience, and heroism in the shadow of tough decisions. It’s always seemed that, narratively, it would make sense that Midnight would represent some kind of low point for our team. Perhaps we may even lose in a significant way. The fact that Longdale seems to be calling out these points as a main theme feels like this long-held theory could be quite accurate.

It also feels particularly salient after the events of Manaforge Omega and the Blood Ties novel. For anyone who didn’t finish at least the story version of the Dimensius fight, after we win, Xal’atath reveals her inevitable double-cross and, in the process, consumes Locus-Walker. He certainly had a complicated past and often made very questionable choices, but he had served as a friend and teacher to Alleria for years. It was complicated, but losing him was still quite a blow. Then, in Blood Ties, the majority of the book is about things going very wrong, and although no major character dies, the sense of loss is multifaceted and deep.

With the idea of these themes running throughout Midnight and not just the lead-ins, I can’t help but wonder how bad things will get. I’m not sure anything will ever be as sad as Ysera’s death for me, but it isn’t just the deaths of characters that could cause this sense of loss. The world could change fundamentally, and characters could make hard choices with devastating consequences for everyone. I’m quite curious where we’ll go from here.

The preview of some of the updates after Midnight launches was incredible. However, the most interesting update, Labyrinths, is slated for 12.1.5. So it will be a while before we get them. Regardless, the idea of a delve inspired by mega-dungeons is fascinating. I can’t help but think this could be an evolution of the system we saw in Torghast. However, I wouldn’t expect the same level of buffs available in Labryinths. Additionally, the fact that players can tackle a Labryinth all at once or in smaller chunks if needed makes it very adaptable to how a player wants to engage with the content, which is ideal.

Housing

To no one’s surprise, the early access launch of housing has gone quite well. There have been some minor hiccups here and there, but overall it’s been quite the success. It was no real surprise to hear that the most popular decor item has been the secretive bookcase. I feel like I see it everywhere. In fact, I was just remarking on how impressed I was that a friend of mine managed to set his up so they look like they are built into the wall, yet still work as intended. It was also very refreshing to hear Longdale say, “Over time, our updates to Housing will be driven by what you want and need to make your dreams real as you continue to explore, imagine, and push the tools to their limits.”

Considering that housing is intended to be an evergreen feature, hearing Hazzikostas say, “This is just the ground floor for housing in WoW. We want this feature to be a reflection of your life and times in Azeroth, and we're serious about expanding it and improving it alongside you,” was a refreshing reminder of this. I’m also thrilled that there's confirmation that the team is working on pet and mount integration, improved advanced tools (copy/paste, mass select), and import/export builds. All three of those things, though likely very technically challenging, would be incredible additions.

Future of World of Warcraft

One thing not directly game-related stood out to me above all else in this State of Azeroth presentation. Holly Longdale started by reminding us that a large part of why Warcraft has lasted for 30 years is the players who have made Azeroth their home. Whether you’ve been here the whole time, for a few years, or are just starting, being a part of the Warcraft community keeps everything going. 

Ion Hazzikostas also opened his segment by saying, “There is no WoW without you. We are honored to be a part of this world and this community, and humbled to be the caretakers of something that has remained so special and so important to so many for so long.” It wouldn’t have been surprising if the update had started with the community and then moved on without mentioning us again, but it was interesting that they both started there. Then he wrapped up by saying the BlizzCon 2026 will be one to remember, and they’ll be talking about how they view the future of Warcraft’s next 20 years.

I already had a suspicion that this BlizzCon may be special. This is despite the fact we already know what the next World of Warcraft expansion is. Diablo IV’s newest expansion will have been out for about five months, so maybe they’d announce the next one there, but I wasn’t counting on it. There are rumors of a new IP announcement, which would be cool, but rumors can be problematic for many reasons. Despite all of that, the messaging and pacing of things around BlizzCon felt different last year.

With the framing Hazzikostas shared, I’m back to wondering if maybe they’ll also be announcing the next evolution of WoW as well. How many years have we heard about all the things the developers would love to do, but WoW just wasn’t built with that in mind, so getting new systems to work is harder than it would be with different architecture/systems in place? It’s been a refrain for the last few years, at least. In the last couple of years, there’s been unprecedented innovation and new additions. Sure, it could be in response to the ground that was lost in Shadowlands, but it could also be an indicator of them testing out new things for a whole new version of WoW.

It’s likely way-out-there speculation, but no one can argue we aren’t due for it. I’ve played World of Warcraft since the beginning, and when someone says 20 more years, it’s hard for me to imagine them keeping this version of the game going that long. Of course, if you told me I’d still be playing all these years later, I’d think you were crazy. Either way, this year seems like it might be a banner year for the Warcraft franchise. Let’s see where we go.