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Since Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King was finalized, expectations for which games will be prioritized on Xbox services have increased. Users have been speculating and asking questions about the possibility of World of Warcraft being available on the subscription service, but that seems like a long shot given that Blizzard games take too long to access the service.
The Warcraft franchise has been touted as one of the oldest and most successful in the industry, with millions of players playing it every day. This success story not only represented a large number of followers for Blizzard, but also a very strong responsibility, since World of Warcraft continues to be the center of attention of a very large niche of players. But despite this success, the game began to quickly lose that solid player base, still boasting millions of players, but this is a niche, not a new population.
Part of the blame for the decline in player numbers is the aggressive monetization of this game, since it can only be played officially through a dollarized subscription a year ago, which affected players in Latin America and other regions with less stable currencies. Given this, it seems that Blizzard will not make any changes, so the last hope for the arrival of new players is Xbox with Game Pass, a decision that could be the key to the revitalization of both brands in the current context of the industry.
What can Xbox gain from World of Warcraft?
Understanding the massive success that WoW has enjoyed throughout its history, it’s hard to think that an alliance between Xbox and WoW wouldn’t be beneficial for both brands. There are different reasons why Xbox has not yet used this card, since it is not a new purchase or something impossible, since they already own the IP thanks to the purchase from Blizzard. So why this delay?
It’s almost impossible to predict why Xbox didn’t take advantage of this opportunity. Thinking about how long it took to add a Call of Duty to Game Pass, or Diablo, we can get an idea that the final agreement with Blizzard and Activision was not so simple when it came to to release an IP and “give” it into a service like Game Pass. Nonetheless, as users, we will explore some specific benefits and obstacles that exist by including World of Warcraft in the service.
The gaming community as an asset for Xbox
The player base Blizzard currently has is one of the most loyal in the industry. Since World of Warcraft’s launch in 2003, it has maintained an active and diverse community, and the game attracts new players who may or may not become addicted to it. Considering this and the fact that the subscription model poses a very strong barrier to entry, creating a special plan or directly adding the game to the service would be an interesting move on Xbox’s part.
It’s not just about casting the net and catching players already interested in the game, it’s also about attracting and convincing a new audience to join the community that would now be split between WoW and Xbox after this huge announcement. Additionally, gamers who purchase or are going to purchase the service might discover new features or games that will get them hooked on the Xbox ecosystem.
Today, digital communities have enormous power over a company’s communication, marketing and reputation. With such a large asset, it’s interesting to see the conversations on the networks that could lead to a purchase for Xbox. Just as other companies take advantage of their communities to generate positive brand narratives, Xbox must take advantage of a niche as entrenched as WoW to experiment.
WoW and its subscription model
Without a doubt, one of the biggest barriers to entry for this video game is its subscription model. The high cost of this subscription to be able to play in a single month is something that, at least in Latin America, is not viable for the majority of players. In other parts of the world, access is easier since the subscription is based on the dollar and not on each country’s local economy. Because of this high cost, the hacking community has remained stable, with many ways to play older versions of the game, those versions which were successful and are considered “the best version” of WoW.
Therefore, if Xbox manages to adapt its subscription so that WoW has its place in one way or another, this would be another excellent initiative, since it would allow players to not have to pay various subscriptions to be able to entertain themselves Today. Considering the competition that exists with other services, the most viable thing for a person is to choose between Game Pass and WoW, being clear that those who are already rooted in the game will choose without thinking about it, while others users who see it as a barrier to entry allows them to enjoy the game and, at the same time, Game Pass.
But World of Warcraft is not only monetized via a subscription, they also regularly publish expansions which have a fairly high additional cost. Knowing Blizzard with its aggressive monetization style, it seems like this is a very complicated thing to change, but it’s always possible that Xbox has a plan for this, for example exclusive expansions for Xbox users or additional content that could be interesting. to the players. In the event that there are no plans to change the monetization of this game, it is very likely that the game will continue to decline in terms of players and the purchase of Activision Blizzard will not make sense in the long term.
Technical and infrastructural obstacles
Finally, there remains the playable barrier of consoles. WoW was born as a PC game and has remained that way all these years. Even in the remasters and updates to its appearance and gameplay, it has become clear that this game has a set concept that is very difficult to change. Porting to consoles is something that has been talked about in the past, but is only seen as an interesting possibility, not a plan with a defined roadmap.
This way, the inclusion of WoW in Game Pass would be limited to PC users, which is not minor, but it drastically reduces the impact. The interesting thing is therefore to know if there are real plans to bring this game to consoles, which are a target which is not used to MMOs and which, knowing the success of WoW, could be interested and discover a new gender.
This barrier to entry is direct competition from Xbox, because if they want to take advantage of this alliance, they must do it themselves, and in a big way, with a port that attracts everyone’s attention, of quality and which lasts over time. Otherwise, it would be like wasting a great opportunity and, in doing so, damaging the reputation of a community that clings to its world.
Conclusion
At this point in Blizzard’s history, it seems that even with the purchase of Xbox, the franchises are protected and managed in a closed manner. Games like Overwatch or Diablo have been slow to become free-to-play or reach Game Pass, so there’s not much hope at this point. Likewise, Xbox’s erratic and slow movements have shown that there isn’t a very clear plan, so it’s highly likely that WoW isn’t a priority at the moment.
The community is still waiting for Activision Blizzard’s purchase to begin to bear fruit, since it is not two isolated games, but rather an entire catalog that, in theory, is available on Xbox. Regardless, we know that the multi-million dollar contracts that have been signed are not as idealistic as we players hope. In the end, everything remained the same and the players very little appreciated this merger.
Finally, and as a final response to this article, I must say that for Xbox users the future is complicated. Not for lack of games, but because we have participated in an exhausting campaign for a merge which, although we know it is not immediate, is currently almost non-existent. Therefore, also as a publisher, I have to admit that the prospects are not promising, dreaming of WoW on Game Pass is just a dream, and thinking about a more aggressive merger and clear communication from of Xbox is almost unthinkable today.
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