It’s not everyday that an MMO gets a sequel. DLC’s are abundant in this genre, with the first World of Warcraft not being an exception. So why the need for a sequel?
Gamescom has come and gone, and during, game director Tom Chilton was quizzed as to whether WoW would get a sequel, with the response that “it’s something we’ve talked about for ten years”.
The question is, does this game need a sequel? With the expansion packs the original already has, it seems as if a major content change could be achieved by releasing another content update, rather than a brand new sequel. The problem also arises of segmenting the massive player base. WoW’s growth has steadily declined over the previous years (with a loss of over 800,000 players in three months), a sequel seems to be a response to this, an attempt to boost WoW’s player base to what it originally was.
Expansion packs are still being released for the original too, does it seem feasible for Blizzard to be working on two MMO’s at once? Blizzard has stated that they wish to release content updates on a yearly basis, which would require a massive investment of resources. Coupled with the fact that Blizzard is also hiring as we speak this seems like a large task to undertake.
Wow becomes ten years old later this year, with the latest expansion Warlords of Draenor being released this year. Although the player base has fallen, World of Warcraft still has the highest subscribed player base for an MMORPG. Here’s hoping the sequel is just as successful.
