Not for profit, but for players WoW will introduce long-awaited feature. Blizzard reveals first details of houses
Homesteads are coming to World of Warcraft this year. Blizzard Entertainment wants to base them on three pillars and a few minor assumptions.
Blizzard Entertainment revealed details of a new WoW feature, which, after years of fans' requests, will finally make its way to this MMORPG. We mean gamers' households.
The possibility of creating, buying, and decorating your own four walls (instead of just a shared guild headquarters) is an element known from many other online RPGs. Therefore, it may be quite surprising that arguably the most popular and developed game for 20 years, World of Warcraft, has so far lacked such an option.
Of course, this lack troubled the players so much that "player housing" has had its own entry on the fan "wiki" for a long time (under the "speculation" category). However, since November 2024, we know that players' households will finally arrive in Azeroth. Details were revealed in a new article that Blizzard published on the official World of Warcraft website.
Neighborhood house with pillars for many years
The devs talked about three main "pillars" intended to form the foundation of the new system.
- Boundless self-expression - houses are meant to be not only a storage for the player's items but also to allow them to arrange these places in their own way, with plenty of options and using the entire legacy of WoW.
- "Deeply social" aspect - let's be honest: MMORPG is mainly about engaging with other players, and homes are meant to provide players with an excuse to enjoy themselves with friends, guild members, or even "neighbors."
- Long-lasting journey - houses are supposed to be something more than just a one-time addition. The developers are preparing separate development plans for this feature, not only in the form of simple content (decorative elements) but also for completely new systems.
As you can see, Blizzard treats the implementation of housing as something more than just giving in to player requests and doesn't want to introduce this feature half-heartedly. This is further demonstrated by the "minor" assumption: the system should adapt to the players' expectations, whether they wish to return to their houses occasionally or spend more hours there.
Neighborhood cooperation
The developers also hinted at Neighborhoods, in which households will be organized. These instances will enable "neighbors" to collectively earn rewards, either in public or private groups.
The developer also confirmed two zones for starter homes (one each for the Horde and the Alliance). More may be added in the future, but currently, the developers are concentrating on perfecting the entire system (and too many "residential zones" would disperse the player base, which goes against the "social" pillar).
Not profit, but players
Player households will hit WoW in the winter of 2025. The developers still have a lot of work ahead of them, as shown by the article with concept arts of houses rather than screenshots.
Furthermore, discussions about the details of the system are still ongoing, also with the participation of players. Blizzard confirmed that houses are to be primarily created with players in mind, not for the purpose of "profit," and will be available "for everyone." Without any "exorbitant requirements or high purchase costs, no lotteries, and no onerous upkeep," and also without the risk of losing your house in case of World of Warcraft subscription expiration.
Of course, the WoW store will include a "modest" number of cosmetic items, but "hundreds" of options will be rewards for playing the game. Developers compared it to how pets and armor transmogrification currently work. What, in the context of a particular dinosaur, may somewhat contradict the statement from the previous paragraph.
Pointing fingers at FF XIV?
Even putting aside this issue, the article sparked lively discussions, mostly full of enthusiasm, but also with frequent reservations. These mainly concern the fact that, for now, the system exists only on paper, which makes some fans worry about how many of these promises the developers will be able to keep.
Nonetheless, most players can't wait for houses to finally appear in Azeorth. Some of them also draw attention to the "jabs" at a similar function from Final Fantasy XIV ("deserved" in the opinion of these players). Will WoW actually not repeat the mistakes of the Square Enix game? We will find out at the end of this year.
We might wait until summer for a full presentation of the houses when Blizzard is going to show the next expansion of WoW: Midnight.
