History of World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that has become a massive cultural phenomenon since it was originally launched in 2004. In the 17 years since WoW's release, it has dominated the MMORPG market and managed to preserve and expand upon the legacy of games that came before it. Despite changes in the game's meta, it has always represented a specific kind of virtual world that gave players a sense of place and allowed them to create relationships and communities with other players- in many ways, WoW is a second home for millions of players worldwide.
The origins of WoW go back over two decades to 1994, when a game development studio called Silicon & Synapse was founded by three college friends. Over the next few years, the studio, which would later be renamed Blizzard Entertainment, began developing games like Blackthorne and Rock n’ Roll Racing. Nevertheless, the game that would lead to the birth of WoW was not developed until a few years later.
In 1996, Blizzard released a game called Diablo, which would go on to become one of the definitive classic games of the late 1990s. Diablo's game support system, called Battle.net, was a novel concept at the time that let players from different parts of the world play games with each other. This concept would be refined and improved in games that came after Diablo, culminating in the release of StarCraft, which was another massive success and continued to build upon the legacy of Battle.net.
Around this time, Blizzard began developing a game that would be called Warcraft. Warcraft was inspired by real-time strategy games like Settlers and Dune, which tasked players with building a base and commanding armies to conquer other players and progress through the game's story. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans released in 1994 and was a massive success for the company. The game's innovative gameplay, which introduced new concepts like hero units and sophisticated terrain mechanics, was brought to life by Blizzard's now-famous cutscene animation and the game's lush story world.
The Warcraft franchise would continue to grow, with numerous sequels and expansions released over the next decade. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness was released in 1995, a direct sequel to the original Orcs & Humans that expanded on the game's mechanics and story. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos released in 2002 and continued the franchise's evolution by introducing new gameplay mechanics like non-playable hero units and raising the skill cap for high-level players.
While Starcraft and Warcraft were popular, their gameplay dynamics didn't entirely capture the depth of the fantasy world that Blizzard had built up with Warcraft. As time went on, the developers at Blizzard started creating an MMO experience that would let players explore their Kingdom of Azeroth seamlessly. For many in the community, WoW was the inevitable result of years of world-building and game design.
Blizzard announced World of Warcraft in 2001, and the game would not release until 3 years later. By the time it launched, the game was already shaping up to be an MMORPG unlike any other. Players would be given the chance to create their own characters and journey through the massive continent of Azeroth, taking part in quests and joining guilds along the way.
Despite the hype surrounding its release, many people were skeptical of the game's viability, as MMORPGs were seen as a niche genre with a small user base. Even with subscription-based models, they were often very costly to run and maintain. However, the game's world-building and immersive gameplay ended up being the most extensive selling points, drawing in players worldwide.
WoW was a massive success from its initial release and has continued to dominate the market in the years since. Numerous expansions and updates have been released over the years, including The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion, and Battle for Azeroth, each adding new features, quests, zones, and stories to the game's universe.
The game has not been without its fair share of controversies over its 17-year lifespan, but it has always managed to maintain its community of dedicated players despite these issues. One controversy that occurred in the early years of WoW's release was the so-called "Epidemic of Gold Farming". Gold farming referred to the creation of multiple accounts, the use of bots and other scripts, and the unlawful selling of in-game currency to others in exchange for real-world cash. This created an imbalance that disrupted the in-game economy and ultimately led to Blizzard taking steps against such activities, using measures like account bans and other legal measures.
Another major controversy occurred in 2013 when Blizzard announced changes to the game's Real Money Auction House system. This system allowed players to sell items that they obtained in the game for real-world cash. Critics of the system argued that it was unfair and undermined the game's integrity by enabling players with deeper pockets to dominate the in-game market. Blizzard ultimately decided to shut down the Real Money Auction House, acknowledging the community's feedback.
Despite these controversies and others like them, WoW remains a core model of an immersive and engrossing MMORPG experience. With its sophisticated story universe and deep social mechanics, WoW will continue to be a standby in the gaming community for generations to come. It has influenced numerous other games and forms of entertainment, such as the Warcraft movie that was released in 2016. WoW remains a monument to Blizzard's commitment to building worlds that players can lose themselves in, and for that, it will forever hold a place in gaming history.