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In-person gatherings of World of Warcraft fans have been happening at BlizzCon since 2005
Despite World of Warcraft’s 20th birthday being this year, the game has decided to skip its most anticipated celebration.
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Spectators of the MMORPG have converged in Anaheim, California, for BlizzCon annually since 2005.
At the convention, fans could mingle with other devoted viewers, show off their finest costume, and get a sneak peek at upcoming events in the massive fantasy realm of Azeroth.
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Unfortunately, the 2024 edition of the famous event has been canceled by game creator Activision Blizzard.
The event has promised a succession of smaller-scale events instead, assuring disappointed supporters that it would return in the future without specifying when.
As expected, some players have already begun to criticize Microsoft, the new proprietors of Warcraft. In the largest transaction in gaming history, the internet behemoth purchased Activision Blizzard last year for $69 billion (£56 billion).
Many players are curious about the future plans of the Xbox owner now that it owns a number of popular brands, like Candy Crush and Call of Duty.
The majority of the discussion has been on whether or not Microsoft would add new games to Game Pass, a subscription service modeled after Netflix that is considered an integral component of its gaming business.
The news that 1,900 out of 22,000 employees in Microsoft’s gaming group had been laid off was another big event that transpired after the acquisition.
According to reports, this had a significant impact on the Activision Blizzard team, and as a result, the firm halted development on Odyssey, a popular survival game.
Two of World of Warcraft’s top executives told BBC Newsbeat earlier this month—before the BlizzCon announcement—that they weren’t anticipating any big changes for the series.
Holly Longdale, VP and EP of Microsoft, said that the company has given the developer its “full support to do everything we’ve got to deliver for our audience” thus far.
Many attendees at BlizzCon dress as their favorite characters from the video game, a practice known as cosplay.
She said that the Warcraft team was able to share ideas with other Microsoft studios as a result of the merger, which she thought was good for gamers.
Holly called it a “very rare special benefit” and said that she had previously spoken to the Minecraft and The Elder Scrolls development teams about maybe sharing knowledge.
She told Newsbeat, “I have nothing to announce right now” when asked whether this may indicate a potential crossover between the properties. We’re feeling hopeful. Who can say for sure? I’m just starting off.
Some improvements that were inspired by other companies have already made it into Warcraft, but, she did mention that.
For instance, there’s a new option for gamers who suffer from severe arachnophobia to disable the eight-legged animals entirely.
Grounded is a cooperative survival adventure game developed by Obsidian for Microsoft, and Holly mentioned that element was borrowed from that game.
Go on a treasure hunt!
Investing in Activision Blizzard has also contributed to an increase in Microsoft’s bottom line. Last week, it was revealed that the acquisition was the primary driver of a significant uptick in sales for the gaming sector.
However, sales of its Xbox system fell 31% from the previous year.
Despite gaming head Phil Spencer’s claims that Microsoft isn’t abandoning consoles, the business has been publishing titles that were exclusive to other platforms as part of its multi-platform strategy.
Holly expressed her belief to Newsbeat that the presently console-unavailable World of Warcraft may be included and expressed her desire to increase the game’s popularity.
“We’re always looking to find ways where we can expand our audience,” according to her.
“Ultimately, that challenge will never end because we want to share World of Warcraft with everyone around the world.”
New features have been added to World of Warcraft in recent years, catering to casual gamers who aren’t interested in spending hours leveling up their characters or engaging in battles with other players. The game is now facing stiff competition in the online space from popular titles like Minecraft and Fortnite.
However, the reputation that certain online games have for poisonous speech and behavior is one of the largest obstacles to recruiting new players.
According to Maria Hamilton, World of Warcraft’s associate design director, who spoke with Newsbeat, this isn’t exclusive to the game and is something Blizzard is working hard to fix but will likely never totally eradicate.
“Any online experience runs the risk of encountering someone who’s having a bad day,” according to her.
“We have good reporting and good methods of watching for problematic players, toxic players.”
Blizzard’s Vision for the Future of Gaming Racism and sexism in video games are hot topics right now, and World of Warcraft has taken heat for having characters that some players found offensive.
“Representation wasn’t always the greatest,” Maria told Newsbeat.
“The image of some of our character races might not be entirely wonderful within the lens of today” .
According to Maria, the corporation is attempting to prevent recurrences by hiring external diversity advisors, but she still wishes some of the most problematic incidents might be deleted from the game’s history.
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Games now vie for more of our attention and time than they did when Warcraft first came out twenty years ago.
According to Holly, in the year 2024, streaming services such as Netflix will pose a significant threat.
Despite the difficulties that lie ahead, Holly and Maria expressed optimism for the next two decades of World of Warcraft.
“We’ve got some pretty incredible ideas on the way,” Holly remarked.
“As part of Microsoft, we feel there’s some pretty boundless potential on the way” .
However, the game’s annual convention will not be a part of it for this year.
