World of Warcrafthas a long and celebrated culture of datamining, and the transparency of its developer team at Blizzard Entertainment – at least as far as allowing players to preview upcoming content – has contributed to the growth of theWorld of Warcraftcommunity in a major way by allowing fans to engage ever-so-slightly with the development process.
While the Public Test Realm remains open for players to document upcoming additions to the game, sometimes dataminers sneak a glimpse into what lies behind the curtain. In this case, it hints that Blizzard Entertainment has created a new version of its flagship MMO to store on its servers.
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Twitter user Marlamin, a famousWorld of Warcraftplayer in the datamining community, has discovered the existence of an encrypted endpoint on the Blizzard servers titled “wowdev3.” Marlamin went on to explain that “wowdev” was sparingly used for the Retail version of the game (currently on theShadowlandsexpansion), and that “wowdev2” was used for Classic builds. While Blizzard has spoken about developing amobile game set in theWarcraftuniverse, it should be noted that the specific naming of the endpoint suggests a newWorld of Warcraftversion rather than a newWarcraftgame in its own right.
The addition of a completely new version ofWorld of Warcraftto the Blizzard servers could mean a lot of things. Some speculate that it could simply be a build for the inevitableWrath of the Lich KingClassic servers. Others are more optimistic, and believe that Blizzard is testing the waters for a more thoroughly revamped version of the game that might arrive with the next expansion. However, perhaps the most realistic voice amidst the speculation lies in the belief thatWorld of Warcraftmight be coming to Xboxfollowing the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Given that BlizzCon’s online event for 2022 has been canceled, the best opportunity for Blizzard to announce the nextWorld of Warcraftexpansion orWrath of the Lich KingClassicwill likely arrive at a later date, and perhaps even as a separate occasion. Until then, players can only speculate what thisWorld of Warcraftversion represents, as well as when or if it might even see the light of day.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlandsis available on PC.Eternity’s Endreleases on February 22.
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