Blizzcon 2023: World of Warcraft changes direction and announces new saga of expansions The Worldsoul Saga

After months of speculation from an expectant community, Blizzard has confirmed not one but three expansions for the retail version of their flagship MMO at Blizzcon. To give the release its full title, World of Warcraft: The Worldsoul Saga will send players into the heart of Azeroth and beyond.

Dragonflight has been a bit of a tough time for World of Warcraft, with the MMO’s player base divided across the retail version of the game and the three iterations of WoW Classic (not to mention the Hardcore servers) currently on offer. Though the game did introduce some features that were well-received, the consensus throughout is that many of the biggest problems remain unaddressed.

As a result, WoW’s community has been speculating where the game will go next, with a new expansion at the top of the list. Significant rumors in recent days were met with equal amounts of excitement and skepticism.

Now, with Blizzcon well underway, players have received exciting news, though perhaps not what they were expecting.

World of Warcraft: The Worldsoul Saga will take place over multiple expansions

Blizzard Entertainment

In a first for World of Warcraft, Executive Creative Director Chris Metzen announced that the game will now release three expansions as part of a single narrative thread known as The Worldsoul Saga. The first of these is The War Within, a story that will take players to the center of Azeroth, where they will do battle with familiar enemies like the Nerubian and Earthen.

The second is known simply as Midnight and, in exciting news for longtime players, they will be returning to the Old World and Quel’Thalas. The forces of the void have invaded to extinguish the light of the Sunwell. Players will be tasked with uniting the scattered Elven tribes and fighting back against the forces of shadow.

The final expansion announced on the show floor is The Last Titan. Heading back to the Old World again, players will bear witness to the return of the Titans in Ulduar and Northrend more generally. It promises to unfold many of the secrets of Azeroth’s formation and the world before the time of the game.

Even the most skeptical of World of Warcraft players would have to say that this has been an ambitious show from the Blizzard team. If they can deliver on a premise as exciting as this, it could see the biggest MMO of all time enter its very own renaissance.