WoW Classic Players Divided Over Blizzard's Silence

Will Blizzard Continue With Cataclysm?

As the final raid for Wrath of the Lich King has went live, and with BlizzCon on the horizon, how will Blizzard Entertainment navigate the now divided community? 

Given how quickly Blizzard was able to roll out The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, it is completely possible for them to take the next logical step of progressing the game into its next expansion. With WoW Classic being the success that it is, players would like to progress even further into the story of the game, and fight Deathwing once more.

Despite Dragonflight's unpredictable success, players are still looking to WoW Classic as the zenith of Blizzard Entertainment, as WotLK embodied everything perfect about the franchise, so Cataclysm would have a hard time living up to the game's legacy.

Players Want Classic+

The other part of the community does not believe that Cataclysm falls into the WoW Classic experience, as the very foundation of that expansion completely changes Azeroth's landscape. What players are wishing for is to maintain and enhance the feeling of logging onto a full server with Stormwind and Orgrimmar being full to the brim of players socializing and duelling. 

Fans of the franchise are looking into a new experience instead of re-living all of the expansions. Many private servers are capitalizing on this by providing enhanced versions of WoW Classic  with new races, quests, zones, and content all within the realm of the Classic experience. 

And while Cataclysm seems like the next logical step, there are some suspiciouns that Blizzard are planning on releasing a big update for WoW Classic players, perhaps even a new product as many of the Classic developers have been moved to a 'Experimental Gameplay' team.

WoW Token Backlash

Blizzard's decision to add WoW Tokens to WotLK caused a big stir in the community, with many players quitting the game out of frustration. The issue lied in WoW's botting problem as the in-game economy was heavily influenced by the gold trading and unfair use of bots for acquiring  materials.

Players shunned Blizzard for their decision of implementing the Token as the reasoning behind it fell flat. It felt as if the developers simply raised their hands and did not want to continue tackling the issues plaguing the core playerbase.

It is uncertain whether players will return back to the game, as Blizzard most likely will keep the WoW Token, and that may heavily impact the playerbase and damage the hype and reputation that was built in the first place.

Conclusion

We will probably find out more about WoW's future during BlizzCon 2023, and with the news that Chris Metzen returned as Executive Creative Director of Warcraft for Blizzard Entertainment, long-time players might re-experience the love and passion for the franchise, knowing that one of the founding members is back to bring new life into World of Warcraft's story.

As it stands, players will always be disappointed by whichever path the developers take, but it is important to take note of how much work was put into the WoW Classic experience, reminding players of the glory days when Blizzard was at the top of the gaming industry. And with news of Bobby Kotick departing from Activision Blizzard, a new golden era might be upon us.