World of Warcraftremains one of the most popular MMORPG titles on the market. Even as the game just celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, gamers still flock toWorld of Warcraftyear in and year out. Publisher Blizzard Entertainment has also capitalized on its continued success with the continuous release of expansions, notably putting outWorld of Warcraft: The War Withinlast year.
The game is showing no signs of slowing down either, as Blizzard currently has two more expansions in the worksin the form ofWorld of Warcraft: MidnightandWorld of Warcraft: The Last Titan. Clearly,World of Warcraftremains incredibly popular to this day, and Blizzard will take every opportunity it can to maintain that popularity. One way the team can do that is to takeWorld of Warcraftwhere it’s never gone before: the console world.
World of Warcraft Could Reach Uncharted Territory
World of Warcraft Is Perfect For A Switch 2 Release
More specifically, Blizzard can helpWorld of Warcraftgrow by giving ita release on the Nintendo Switch 2. This would be very out of the game’s typical wheelhouse, asWorld of Warcraftand its subsequent expansions have all stayed exclusive to PC and Mac over the last two decades. Furthermore, even the largerWarcraftseries has stayed away from home consoles; the Sega Saturn and PlayStation releases ofWarcraft 2: Tides of Darknessremain the franchise’s only console releases.
Generally speaking, MMORPG and strategy games such asWorld of Warcraftare best experienced when using a mouse to control things very quickly. As a result, it seems strange to even imagineaWorld of Warcraftgame coming to a consoleif the system is incapable of mouse controls. This, however, is where the Switch 2 comes in and shows itself as a strong fit for the system.
Nintendo Switch 2’s Apparent Mouse Functionality Could Support World of Warcraft
The Nintendo Switch 2’s reveal trailer appeared to confirm several rumors that the newJoy-Con controller will be able to function as a mouse. Given that the first Switch essentially combined the worlds of console and handheld gaming, it appears the Switch 2 will take those and further combine them with the world of PC gaming. This new change should bring numerous PC-based franchises to the Switch, andWorld of Warcraftshould be chief among those games.
Bringing a game likeWorld of Warcraftto the Switch 2 should only help grow its playerbase. Naturally, putting a game on another console puts it in the hands of more players, and given the massive success of the Switch, Nintendo’s hybrid console has been a haven for third-party publishers. If the Switch 2 is able to court a similar number of users, it would make plenty of business sense to bringWorld of Warcraftto Nintendo’s more powerful Switch successor.
Given that the first Switch essentially combined the worlds of console and handheld gaming, it appears the Switch 2 will take those and further combine them with the world of PC gaming.
World of Warcraft Could Be One Of Many Xbox Games On Switch 2
It helps that bringing a Blizzard Entertainment title to the Switch 2 would be consistent with the goals of its publisher Activision’s larger owner, Microsoft. Xbox’s Phil Spencer recently announced that the publisher would besupporting the Switch 2 with Xbox gameswhen the new system arrives. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Phil Spencer even pull from the Blizzard catalog on the Switch 2, especially given that Nintendo fans can already play Blizzard games likeDiablo 3andOverwatchon the current-generation Switch.
World of Warcraftappearing on a home consoleof any kind feels like a long shot, especially given the franchise’s long-running console aversion across the past two decades. Still, if there’s any time for the series to make its debut on a home console, it’s probably with the release of the Switch 2. It’s too early to tell, but Blizzard has a great chance to create a wider audience for its flagship game with a release on Nintendo’s upcoming system.
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World of Warcraft is an incredibly successful MMORPG that has been going strong for almost two decades. It’s one of the highest-grossing franchises in history and is widely considered the most popular MMORPG ever made.
