We Tried WoW's Player Housing, And The Possibilities Already Feel Endless

There's a reason Blizzard used World of Warcraft's 20th-anniversary livestream in November 2024 as the stage to finally announce player housing. It's likely to be the biggest feature in the game's two-decade history: a huge undertaking that players have wanted Blizzard to commit to since WoW first launched back in 2004. The news that Blizzard was finally rolling up its sleeves and tackling it was a huge deal that had players buzzing with ideas, possibilities, and more than a few concerns.Blizzard is buzzing with ideas and possibilities, too. That much is clear after spending several hours going hands-on with an early version of WoW's player housing and talking to the developers behind it. There's no shortage of "what if this was possible?" or "that's a great idea!" conversations during my day at Blizzard's Boston office. It's the first time a group of players outside Blizzard have been able to take the game's player-housing decoration tools for a spin, and the team seems eager to learn what members of the press and various WoW content creators in attendance think, both good and bad. Blizzard employees are constantly jotting down ideas or making notes about player feedback. It's almost as if you can see light bulbs going off in real time about what might be possible. The basics of player housing seem set in stone--the actual mechanics of decorating a home, the philosophy behind all players being homeowners, and the social-driven nature of the entire endeavor--and have already been officially detailed by Blizzard in a series of blog posts dedicated to the subject. Every player who wants a house will be able to get one, and homes will be located in neighborhoods (one for each faction) where players will have persistent neighbors. Home decor will be doled out as quest rewards, from professions, and other areas of the game. Those are the major facts we already knew, but the finer details, as well as the big ideas for what the housing system could be potentially capable of in the future, all still feel a bit ethereal.Continue Reading at GameSpot

May 15, 2025 - 19:10

We Tried WoW's Player Housing, And The Possibilities Already Feel Endless

There's a reason Blizzard used World of Warcraft's 20th-anniversary livestream in November 2024 as the stage to finally announce player housing. It's likely to be the biggest feature in the game's two-decade history: a huge undertaking that players have wanted Blizzard to commit to since WoW first launched back in 2004. The news that Blizzard was finally rolling up its sleeves and tackling it was a huge deal that had players buzzing with ideas, possibilities, and more than a few concerns.

Blizzard is buzzing with ideas and possibilities, too. That much is clear after spending several hours going hands-on with an early version of WoW's player housing and talking to the developers behind it. There's no shortage of "what if this was possible?" or "that's a great idea!" conversations during my day at Blizzard's Boston office. It's the first time a group of players outside Blizzard have been able to take the game's player-housing decoration tools for a spin, and the team seems eager to learn what members of the press and various WoW content creators in attendance think, both good and bad. Blizzard employees are constantly jotting down ideas or making notes about player feedback. It's almost as if you can see light bulbs going off in real time about what might be possible.

The basics of player housing seem set in stone--the actual mechanics of decorating a home, the philosophy behind all players being homeowners, and the social-driven nature of the entire endeavor--and have already been officially detailed by Blizzard in a series of blog posts dedicated to the subject. Every player who wants a house will be able to get one, and homes will be located in neighborhoods (one for each faction) where players will have persistent neighbors. Home decor will be doled out as quest rewards, from professions, and other areas of the game. Those are the major facts we already knew, but the finer details, as well as the big ideas for what the housing system could be potentially capable of in the future, all still feel a bit ethereal.Continue Reading at GameSpot