When Blizzard confirmed that mystery World of Warcraft Patch 10.2.6 was to be a pirate-themed Battle Royale named Plunderstorm, the community response seemed to be equal parts shock and excitement. Now, more left-field play options could be on the way for players to enjoy.
In an interview with IGN at this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), World of Warcraft Franchise Director John Hight discussed the release of Plunderstorm and the future of events like it. Though the timing of the interview meant he had less context on its successes, he left the door open to multiple futures.
One of those could see Plunderstorm stick around longer than the originally billed six weeks. Additionally, Hight refused to rule out similar experiences in the future, with much dependent on player demand for new and continued events of the same ilk as Plunderstorm.
When asked about the new direction, Hight had this to say:
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“We like the notion that there are events that are seasonal in a way that come in just like we do the seasons in WoW itself…What we’re trying to build is a repertoire of fun things for the live team…to be able to pull the arrows from the quiver and use them when we need to use them.
“If we get a point where we can see the players want a new event or engagement, we can fire up a Plunderstorm or we can fire up some other event. And we are planning a lot of different kinds of events like that.”
With Plunderstorm seemingly drawing plaudits from multiple angles, the future looks bright for offshoot WoW game modes. What exactly those will look like is anybody’s guess.