Anniversary of a popular online game

World of Warcraft (WoW), a popular online role-playing game developed by Blizzard, will mark its 22nd anniversary in 2026. First released in 2004, it has remained popular despite the rise and fall of many competing games.

New version with controller support

World of Warcraft: Forever, a new version of the game based on the original 2004 release but with added content, is set to launch on November 4–5 at midnight Paris time. It is notable for being the first version of WoW to support controller use on PC from launch.

Future on consoles under consideration

Holly Longdale, executive producer of World of Warcraft, mentioned in an interview that Blizzard is considering bringing the game to consoles. She noted that making the game work well with controllers was the first step, and World of Warcraft: Forever was a good starting point for this effort.

Microsoft's influence on future platforms

The possibility of a console version seems more likely now that Activision Blizzard, which owns Blizzard, was acquired by Microsoft in 2023. Longdale also referenced Microsoft's Xbox Helix project, suggesting that the game could become available on more platforms in the future.

Subscription includes access to multiple versions

Access to World of Warcraft: Forever is included in the 12.99 euro monthly subscription, which also grants access to the modern "Retail" version and the classic version of the game. Currently, the new version is only available on PC, though this may change in the future.