Every week at Female First, we're taking a look back at some of the things of the past that have brought us joy and entertained us for countless hours. This week, what better avenue to explore than that of the original World of Warcraft game?
The Classic version is to be released on Tuesday, August 27th, 2019, and we can't wait to go right back to where it all started, and jump back into the action. Happy Throwback Thursday!
The year's 2004. Game designers Alex Afrasiabi, Tom Chilton, Jeff Kaplan, Pat Nagle and Aaron Keller are all gearing up for the release of their brand new massively-multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. They know there's huge interest in the title; you've just got to check out the scores of people lining up to get their hands on one of the very first copies. But what those five designers, and the wider development team behind-the-scenes didn't know, was just how huge WoW would become.
At its peak in 2010, the game had 12 million subscribers. That's a heck of a lot of people from all over the world, jumping on their desktops day-in, day-out to grind levels, farm equipment, and go to war against one another. Whilst that number has dwindled in recent years, the interest in WoW never truly subsides. There are still over five million subscribers actively playing the game today, and for good reason. The rich lore and addictive gameplay mechanics combine for an immersive MMORPG experience like no other.
So, you might ask, after over a decades' worth of content, and making your characters in-game the very best they can be, why would anybody want to go back and start all over again? Well, one of the things that gamers love most is a chunky dose of nostalgia, and that's exactly what they'll be getting with the release of WoW Classic next week.
"The drums of war thunder once again": it's a line no player will ever forget, and to be given the chance to go back and play through a faithful recreation of the original game, with character models, combat mechanics and skill trees all reverted back to what they once were, is something millions are expected to jump at the opportunity of.
Amongst them will be original designers Afrasiabi, Chilton, Kaplan, Nagle and Keller, who teamed up ahead of the launch to revisit their creation:
With so many excited to jump back in and rediscover forgotten areas, Blizzard are already warning that launch night could see realms with queues in excess of 10,000 to access the game. We hope they've got some strong servers at the ready!
WoW Classic launches on Tuesday, August 27th, 2019. To play, all you'll need is a Blizzard account, with an active World of Warcraft subscription. No additional purchase is required. Click here for more info.