World of Warcraftused to be one of the most popular games in the world. The era of live service games, as well asWorld of Warcraft’s waning popularity, has likely ended the MMO’s best days, but it’s still a hugely popular game and franchise. So when evidence appears thatWorld of Warcraftcould make the jump from PC to console, it’s unsurprising that many believe it to be a realistic possibility. It’d reach millions of potential new players, after all.World of Warcraftfans probably shouldn’t hold their breath, though.
The latest wave of rumors stems from an unconfirmed leak, claiming thatWorld of Warcraftwas referenced in the source code of Xbox’s official website. A “World of Warcraft Complete Edition” was planned to be featured in the website’s “Upcoming Games” subsection, coinciding with what could be a major announcement duringThe Game Awards 2021on December 9. These leaks have not been corroborated, however, and the original source even deleted their “findings.”
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This isn’t the first time that aWorld of Warcraftconsole edition has been “leaked.” In mid-2020,World of Warcraft: Shadowlandswasrated for the Xbox Series X in Brazil. Blizzard later clarified that it had “no plans” to bringWorld of Warcraftto console. Odds are, it was a simple mistake tied the Brazilian ratings board’s databases or Blizzard’s filings in the region. Whatever the reason, aWorld of Warcraftconsole edition has not come to be since.
One last noteworthy aspect to the situation is that, even if there was a potentialWorld of Warcraftconsole edition planned to be announced, it may not be in the plans anymore. Activision Blizzard is currently in the midst of a major controversy spinning out of lawsuits against the company for sexual harassment and gender discrimination, includingaccusations against Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Microsoft, PlayStation, and other companies have made public statements condemning the situation. Any previously planned announcements could now be paused.
It begs the question, wouldWorld of Warcrafteven work on consoles? MMOs includingFinal Fantasy 14have made it work, butWorld of Warcraftis such a complicated MMO that many of its players rely on mods and add-ons to even make it usable on PC. Condensing the UI for console sounds like an unmanageable challenge.
Regardless, there’s little argument that ifWorld of Warcraftdid make it to console it would be a massive success. Just making the MMO available to millions of gamers who otherwise haven’t been able to play it is all it would take. Needless to say, there will be a lot of console gamers looking toThe Game Awards 2021 on December 9to see if there’s any truth to this likely false rumor.
World of Warcraftis available now on PC.
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