As World of Warcraft's recent expansion Shadowlands reaches its final stages, fans are wondering what might come next for the long-running and much-loved franchise. Released in 2004, Blizzard's popular MMORPG has had eight major expansions since its launch, adding new playable races, regions, and modes, as well as expanding the established lore of World of Warcraft. As an online game, expansions are the lifeblood of titles like World of Warcraft and keep players coming back for more as the base game is updated, and its horizons broadened both literally and figuratively.
The upcoming patch titled Eternity's End has been confirmed as the final chapter of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, and will be adding an expansive new end-game zone as well as updates to existing features. While this is no doubt something to look forward to for fans of the franchise, players are already looking ahead to what comes after Shadowlands wraps up. According to new assets found in some leaked flies, the next World of Warcraft expansion could include some dragon-related content, giving fans a reason to be excited.
Origins Of The Leaks
Details and spoilers leaking out ahead of official announcements is nothing new. With the long development cycles that are typical of the medium, it's difficult to keep all of a game's aspects secret for the entirety of its pre-launch life. Even expansion packs suffer from the same setbacks, and with franchises as big as World of Warcraft – one of the longest-running online experiences in the history of video games – things are bound to leak eventually. This is what appears to have happened ahead of the next major expansion, with a developer Discord discussion seemingly leaking and new assets being found in game files.
While players should always take rumors and leaks with a pinch of salt until everything is officially confirmed, it's hard for fans not to become excited when news gets out about upcoming features and game developments. In this case, the Discord developer chat leaks apparently point toward a seismic shift at the end of the Shadowlands story that will have profound consequences for the franchise as a whole. The leak went on to allegedly detail further narrative elements and gameplay mechanics, providing plenty of fodder for fan speculation.
In addition to the Discord discussion, encrypted assets found in World of Warcraft files added more grist to the rumor mill. The datamined assets appeared to reveal a new mount, pets, and other cosmetics and items, potentially pointing at
a package of updates that are reminiscent of Deluxe Edition rewards included in previous World of Warcraft expansions. Even at the end of last year, the assets in the game's cash shop included a new Dragon Pack in the holiday sale, further hinting at the focus for the upcoming major expansion.
What This Means For The Next Expansion
With details still scarce and rumors yet to be confirmed, it's impossible to know for sure what the next World of Warcraft expansion will entail before it's officially revealed. But with the leaked Discord chat and other hints like datamined details, fans are able to build a vague picture of what the next major expansion might look like. According to the rumors, after players complete the world-saving quest at the end of the previous expansion Shadowlands, earthquakes and other major events and invasions will change the landscape in significant ways.
The next expansion will apparently be called The Dragon Isles and will involve a zone that was planned from the Burning Crusade expansion. As well as the additional locations, there will be a brand-new playable race of black dragons who will have a humanoid form as well as a more recognizably-draconic flying form. The chance to play a dragon character would be a popular option for players and would shake up the dynamics in an interesting way. The final events of Shadowlands creating such a drastic change to the environments in order to rebuild them throughout the upcoming expansion will also give World of Warcraft the chance for a much-needed refresh and rebirth.
With rumors swirling and speculation rife, it will be interesting to see when Blizzard will finally put these unconfirmed reports to bed and announce the details of the next expansion officially.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available on PC. Eternity's End is currently in development.
