World of Warcraft is a PC exclusive game and the players enjoying it mostly come from a PC gaming background. This has been the case for the longest time, but there’s a sense in the air that things are about to change pretty soon.
Is WoW coming to console? Will the controller take over the keyboard? These types of questions would be instantly dismissed and even ridiculed five or ten years ago. However, we now have good reason to believe Blizzard might actually be steering the game in this direction.
If you’re looking forward to plugging in your PS5 or Xbox and enjoying a World of Warcraft session from the comfort of your couch, you might not have to wait too long.
@ Wowhead
Is WoW coming to console?
As of right now, World of Warcraft is still strictly a PC game. On the surface level, it seems like nothing has really changed too much over the years. The graphics have improved and there are more systems than before, but the core principles remain the same.
But if we dig a little deeper we’ll quickly notice subtle and small changes Blizzard have been implementing over the years, possibly indicating their long-term plan of WoW coming to console one day. And to prove our point, we’ll quickly list some of those changes.
WoW Skill Pruning
If we compare the current World of Warcraft version with its Classic counterpart, we’ll see striking differences in the number of skills each class possesses. In almost every case, the Classic version has way more skills ranging from core skills, to crowd control and utility. This is the consequence of Blizzard pruning class skills on retail over the years.
Aside from making the classes more accessible and easier to play, pruning has opened the door to players using controllers to play WoW. We are already seeing cases of some of the top World of Warcraft streamers using controllers to level, do daily activities in the world and even casual PvP. Raiding is probably the final barrier to this, but even this won’t be an issue with the Raid Finder and cross-faction grouping.
Cross-Play and Cross-Platform
Another huge reason why Blizzard will most likely take World of Warcraft to consoles one day is the popularity of Cross-Play and Cross-Platform. Times change and we either move ahead or fall behind. And with Blizzard being forward-thinking, they will likely adjust and adapt to this change.
The majority of Blizzard games already support Cross-Play and Cross-Platform. Overwatch 2, Call of Duty, Hearthstone, Diablo 2: Resurrected, Diablo 3, Diablo 4 and Diablo: Immortal all support Cross-Play and are available on consoles.
Furthermore, World of Warcraft is already somewhat Cross-Platform with the WoW Companion app, which allows players to complete important missions and quests from their phone.
@ Blizzard
Microsoft/Activision Blizzard Merger
The final piece of the puzzle is the upcoming merger of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard that would place all Blizzard games on the Xbox Game Pass. It would be foolish for Microsoft to not add one of the best MMORPG games ever made to their Xbox platform. This will pose some technical challenges, but if anyone has the cash to cover it, it’s Microsoft.
Suddenly, WoW coming to Xbox One turns from a distant dream into a realistic possibility. Blizzard have laid the foundations and now it’s Microsoft’s turn to finish the job.
Dust off your controller
So will WoW ever come to console?
The question is not if, but when. World of Warcraft will almost certainly expand to consoles. It’s a logical move from every perspective. It might not happen immediately, but we should keep our eyes peeled for the big announcement in the upcoming years.
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