World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale has revealed that the studio still has discussions about a possible console release for the MMORPG. Speaking to VGC in an interview, Longdale didn’t necessarily rule out a possible console release for World of Warcraft.
“Of course we still talk about it,” said Longdale when asked about a console release, echoing similar previous statements by the MMO’s developers. “We’re gamers, I don’t think anything is out of the realm of possibility, but we don’t have anything to talk about right now.”
It is worth noting that, while a console release of World of Warcraft would bring in quite a few new players to the MMORPG, the ports would come with their own set of unique challenges. One of the bigger challenges faced by a potential console version of the game is how add-ons would work. World of Warcraft‘s endgame heavily relies on players having specific UI add-ons in order to properly understand raid boss mechanics, among other things.
Longdale also spoke about how Blizzard has been affected by its recent acquisition by Microsoft, stating that the company has been largely hands-off with the studio. She revealed that Blizzard has been able to communicate with other development teams as well, including those for The Elder Scrolls Online, and Minecraft.
“If anything, it’s just been helpful,” Longdale said. “We got time with Helen Chang from Mojang, and we were sharing information, so it’s almost as if we have access to what worked for them, we got to speak to the Elder Scrolls Online team and share what we’re up to and what’s been working, it’s almost like we get a benefit.”
“There’s no one asking us to do anything,” Longdale continued. “World of Warcraft is doing very well and they’re very proud of what it’s been able to accomplish, so it’s almost like just let it be, and let it keep being awesome. They’ve been tremendously supportive and it’s like ‘let Blizzard be Blizzard’.”
World of Warcraft is currently in the midst of ending its current expansion, Dragonflight, as it gets ready for The War Within, which recently had its 20th anniversary collector’s edition revealed.