WoW director admits game’s story has been a “weakness” but open to changing direction

Game Director Ion Hazzikostas spoke with World of Warcraft’s community council recently, and acknowledged the game has struggled to tell its stories over the years — something he’s spoken about with Chris Metzen recently.

There’s no denying it’s difficult to follow WoW’s overarching story, which spans not only the game’s nine expansions, but older titles like Warcraft III too.

It’s a lot to digest for new players, a fact Hazzikostas also acknowledged in a recent interview.

But with so much story to deliver, the game’s director expressed some doubt about the best method to do so; “I don’t know that gameplay is always the best vehicle…”

Even for veterans keeping up with the shifts in direction, including retcons which affect the motivation of characters once set in stone, or changes to canon locations, can be tough to follow.

There has been plenty of discussion from streamers and fans about the wisdom of some of WoW’s narrative choices in recent years.

The addition of the Jailer, for example, caused substantial change to the previously completed storyline of Arthas, a titular character in WoW’s Wrath of the Lich King and the expansion for Warcraft III, Frozen Throne.

Controversial story decisions aside, WoW is looking for new ways to communicate its narrative to old and new players alike.

Hazzikostas mentioned new strategies being discussed by the team, including features like in-game journals and cinematics.

Both of these have been features of WoW’s competitor, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV, for quite some time.

Final Fantasy XIV director, Naoki Yoshida, has previously expressed his admiration for WoW, citing them not only as an inspiration but as a title that has informed his game’s development.

Now, it seems like Hazzikostas and the WoW team are returning the favor and looking at what’s worked with other player bases to solve their narrative quandaries.