“It was a precursor,” mentioned Olivier Servais, a specialist in on-line communities. “Blizzard centered on guilds and communities on a human scale, bringing collectively between 30 and 200 gamers.”
In these teams, “individuals flirt, they confide about their day by day lives”, weddings and funerals are organised, and the sport turns into “a pretext to socialize”, he mentioned.
WoW was born the identical 12 months as Fb, and comprised key parts comparable to on-line interactions and communities that may assist create at present’s globalised social networks.
“It was many individuals’s first actual publicity and connection to individuals in a digital digital atmosphere. And that was a part of the magic, and that is a tough factor to copy,” Hazzikostas mentioned.
Since then, different widespread video games comparable to Fortnite or League of Legends have adopted related codes.
‘MONUMENT’
At its peak within the 2010s, World of Warcraft claimed greater than 10 million energetic accounts, although the quantity could possibly be increased as a result of many individuals typically share one account, in Asia, particularly.
Blizzard not reveals the variety of accounts, however WoW stays widespread internationally.
“We aren’t resting on our laurels, or coasting gently off into the sundown,” Hazzikostas mentioned.
Its tenth extension, The Warfare Inside, was launched in August with new domains to discover and different adjustments.
“Twenty years later, it stays a monument however in a gaming market that has fully modified,” Servais mentioned.
Hazzikostas mentioned Blizzard is “making an attempt new bold issues to shake up what we have performed and preserve that vibrant”.
“I do not see an finish level to World of Warcraft on the horizon at present,” he mentioned, drawing parallels with franchises comparable to Marvel or Star Wars.