Blizzard Explains World of Warcraft Forever Development Approach and Community Relations

The company has no intention of trying to please everyone at once.

World of Warcraft Executive Producer Holly Longdale stated that the beta test for World of Warcraft: Forever became the largest in Blizzard history. She shared this during an appearance at PAX Australia, where she also discussed details about working with player feedback.

Longdale called the influx of beta participants “crazy” and emphasized that Blizzard had never run such a massive beta test before. Developers previously had to increase server player limits for World of Warcraft: Forever shortly after testing began due to high demand.

At the same time, the producer noted that this massive stream of feedback requires the team to take a selective approach. She stated that when the first MMOs launched, social media did not play such a role, so developers received feedback from a limited number of sources. Now player opinions come from everywhere, and Blizzard has to decide which ones actually deserve attention.

Blizzard does not expect to satisfy absolutely every player. According to Longdale, the team needs to independently determine the project’s vision, target audience, and gameplay features.