Recently we had the chance to speak to John Hight, Executive Producer on World of Warcraft at Blizzard, to chat about all things WoW. In Part One of our deep dive into Shadowlands we discuss development in 2020, the new player experience, and why 120 levels of progression was too many.


A snippet.

Since moving to remote work the World of Warcraft teams at Blizzard (which includes those working on the Shadowlands expansion and Classic) have looked to recreate the social side of working as a unit on an MMO by connecting, as we all have, via video platforms. But, not to run through the latest updates – but to simply, well, hangout. “Something like that lets us feel connected even though it's not the same thing as being in the same room with someone,” John adds. When it came to working on the actual game, it wasn’t until the team began seeing players dive into the Alpha that it felt energised, motivated, and in sync.

“Things were a little slower at first, but once we saw people playing the game and becoming excited about what we were doing as we started rolling out alpha updates, we got excited too,” John admits. “Influencers that in the past might've said critical things about the game, came out and were supportive of what we’re trying to do with Shadowlands. That was encouraging for the team and gave us all purpose.”

It’s a feeling that extends beyond simple feedback, seeing players experience things that the team has worked on for years. The current climate in which we all live, that weird place in time known as 2020, played its role.

Part One of Our World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Interview