Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! World of Warcraft turns 22 this year, but despite spin-offs like Hearthstone and its movie adaptation, WoW vice president and executive producer Holly Longdale thinks the Warcraft IP has "been underutilized" and says Blizzard has "a bigger vision" beyond simply being an MMORPG. Speaking to The Game Business in a new interview, Longdale explains that she wants to bring the franchise "to as many people as possible," with the aim of making it feel approachable to all. "It's a fantastic IP," she says. "In my humble opinion, it's been underutilized and I just want to bring it to as many people as possible. And that means evolving what Warcraft means, what it is, and where it's going. We want it to be approachable." World of Warcraft lead thinks the MMO will still be "kicking" in 10 years, but despite having ideas for "the very long run," Blizzard is currently focusing "on the next 5 years" World of Warcraft lead teases "a lot of death" for "important characters" in the Worldsoul Saga, so pray for your faves Blizzard isn't "walking back" axing of World of Warcraft add-ons: "Our goal was never to stamp out the addon ecosystem" She notes that Warcraft executive creative director Chris Metzen sometimes expresses that "'I wish we hadn't called it Warcraft. It sounds kind of intimidating.'" She disagrees, though, arguing that "nobody really thinks that about Warhammer. It's an understood name." Even if Longdale doesn't think the name is holding Warcraft back as a franchise, though, she still sees that there's room for growth. "This idea of 'third space' in our online worlds, we couldn't even define what that means exactly, but we're working on figuring that out. We want people to come in and hang out, and have birthdays, have weddings, have raids, grand adventures, play with their friends, meet new friends, like all the things that traditionally, for over 20 years, World of Warcraft has been good at." She's presumably on about roleplayed, online weddings there, but it would be rather amusing if Blizzard aimed for its MMO to somehow become a venue for real, officiated ceremonies. That aside, she says, "And at the same time, we want to take advantage of 20 years of stories that have been told and not told, and start bringing it out to the world in a broader way. That's my goal and vision." Concluding, Longdale says: "We're never going to stop doing the things we know people love. But at the same time, I think we have a bigger vision simply than an MMORPG." World of Warcraft lead teases there'll be "a lot of death" for "important characters" during the MMO's Worldsoul Saga, so pray for your favorites.