Blizzard has finally unveiled the first Warcraft themed game in eight years, and it is a mobile title under the name Warcraft: Arclight Rumble. While the studio continuously updates World of Warcraft and Hearthstone, it is still not using the Warcraft brand to its full potential. Riot Games has greenlit a boatload of different League of Legends spin-offs, for example, but Blizzard has elected to only release two since World of Warcraft has been on the market. Hearthstone even went so far as to drop the Heroes of Warcraft moniker and add Diablo to the title, making it move farther away from the greater Warcraft franchise.
The Warcraft franchise has been going strong ever since the first title launched in 1994. The series began as an RTS series before making the transition to the MMO genre with 2004's World of Warcraft, and the focus of the franchise has been on that ever since. Azeroth and its residents have become one of the most well-known characters in the PC landscape, and it has become one of the most popular fantasy worlds out there. While Blizzard has created many tie-in novels and a film, it has yet to fully embrace the brand on the gaming side. With only two spin-offs since World of Warcraft was released, Blizzard really needs to capitalize on the series.
Blizzard Has Released Some Warcraft Content
Almost every year, Blizzard releases a couple of tie-in novels to World of Warcraft. These novels expand upon the in-game lore and help to set up future events on Azeroth, and while Blizzard is often criticized for putting crucial story material into these novels, they serve as really fun reads for fans who want to learn more about the world that they are exploring. These novels have ranged from history textbooks and fairy tales to important story beats and prequels to upcoming expansions. They have helped Blizzard tell stories outside the game and have gone a long way to making Azeroth feel more fleshed out, even if there is some contradicting information sometimes.
The focus of the Warcraft brand has been on World of Warcraft ever since it was released. Blizzard has constantly added new content and is currently gearing up to release World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. The studio has also greenlit two different spin-offs for World of Warcraft which have let players explore these characters in different genres. Hearthstone was released in 2014 and brought the Warcraft series to the trading card game world, but the story inside it has been deemed non-canon by Blizzard. There is also the upcoming Warcraft: Arclight Rumble which will bring the series back to its strategy roots, but it is also going to be non-canon to World of Warcraft.
The only other Warcraft themed content that has released since Warcraft began was the Warcraft film that released in 2016. The film retold the events of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans in live-action form. It received mixed reviews and there has not been any hints that a sequel will come to light, even with many fans hoping for a live-action film about Arthas. Warcraft characters also made an appearance as playable heroes in Heroes of the Storm, but the events of that game have zero connection to what is happening in World of Warcraft. There was also a time when World of Warcraft would appear in various ads for companies like Mountain Dew, but that has long since ended.
The Warcraft Brand is an Untapped Gold Mine
While World of Warcraft is still chugging along, the Warcraft brand has barely been tapped by Blizzard. Since 2004, the studio has only released two spin-off titles that are non-canon to the franchise even though World of Warcraft has dominated the MMO genre. In comparison, Riot Games announced a slew of different League of Legends spin-offs in 2019 that will all tell stories featuring the League champions. Blizzard has yet to do the same thing with the characters across Azeroth, and that is a missed opportunity.
Azeroth is ripe with storytelling potential, but Blizzard has seemingly elected to tell it solely through novels and World of Warcraft. While it makes sense that Blizzard would focus on the MMO, the studio should also consider releasing standalone titles focusing on the different characters that make up Azeroth, These games could bridge the gap between expansions, tell stories during expansions, fill characters in on backstory, and help flesh out the fantasy world more than the MMO ever could. It could also provide Warcraft fans with games to play while the MMO has content droughts.
There are so many characters across Azeroth that could benefit from a standalone title, and the franchise could fit in a multitude of different genres. Blizzard could craft an RTS game similar to the older Warcraft games set during Battle for Azeroth. There could be an RPG focused on the events that lead Sylvanas Windrunner to where she is at the end of Shadowlands. Blizzard could create a side-scroller following Chromie as she traverses history to stop some adversary. Warcraft could even work in the fighting game genre with a title focusing on Thrall's gladiator days as he fights for his own freedom. Whatever form these spin-offs take, they would go a long way to making Azeroth feel more alive.
The lack of canon spin-offs in the Warcraft franchise is a disservice to Azeroth. The series is one of the biggest fantasy series in gaming and is one of the most successful brands that Blizzard owns, so it only makes sense to capitalize on it. Giving players more opportunity to explore their favorite fantasy world will only benefit the franchise in the long run, and it may even pull more players to the world of Azeroth.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.