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Blizzard has hinted that the next World of Warcraft expansion will be announced at BlizzCon 2013.
Speaking to IGN in an interview at Gamescom, game director Tom Chilton explained that World of Warcraft’s upcoming patch 5.4 “has the final raid tier for Mists of Pandaria” and that “there will be another content patch to bridge the storyline between Mists of Pandaria and the next expansion.”
When asked when fans might be able to expect that next expansion to be announced, Chilton simply said, “Well, you should pay attention at BlizzCon. See what comes up.”
Chilton’s comments are hardly surprising, as this wouldn’t be the first time a new WoW expansion was announced at BlizzCon. Wrath of the Lich King was announced at BlizzCon 2007, Cataclysm was revealed during BlizzCon 2009, and Mists of Pandaria’s announcement followed at BlizzCon 2011. This means 2013 would fit the schedule perfectly for a new expansion to Blizzard’s MMO.
BlizzCon 2013 will take place on November 9 and 10 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. World of Warcraft’s Patch 5.4: Siege of Orgrimmar will be released on September 10th. For much more on what’s new, see the notes on Blizzard’s official site.
Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls Online will follow a subscription-based business model.
The general manager of Zenimax online confirmed monthly subscriptions for the game, revealing that players will have to purchase the game, which comes with 30 days free, after which they’ll pay $14.99/€12.99/£8.99 per month.
“The Elder Scrolls games are all about allowing the player to go where they want, be who they want, and do what they want. We feel that putting pay gates between the player and content at any point in game ruins that feeling of freedom, and just having one small monthly fee for 100% access to the game fits the IP and the game much better than a system where you have to pay for features and access as you play.
“The Elder Scrolls Online was designed and developed to be a premium experience: hundreds of hours of gameplay, tons of depth and features, professional customer support – and a commitment to have ongoing content at regular intervals after launch. This type of experience is best paired with a one-time fee per month, as opposed to many smaller payments that would probably add up to more than $14.99/month any way.”
With other games dropping subscription for Buy to Play or Free to Play with cash stores, what do you think of Bethesda’s choice?
It was originally a tech demo made by five guys in their spare time, but now EVE-VR – the Oculus Rift space dogfighting game that made its debut at EVE Fanfest this year – is going to be a full game called EVE Valkyrie, coming in 2014.
The teaser trailer is enough to give anyone with fond memories of games like Wing Commander chills. The game itself was hugely impressive even in tech demo format at Fanfest, putting you into the cockpit of a nimble fighter craft with full freedom of movement and vision thanks to Oculus Rift, but now that it’s been greenlit for full production it will have the resources behind it to look truly stunning. Development is being handled at CCP’s Newcastle studio in the UK, and the people at CCP’s head office in Reykjavik who prototyped the game in their spare time are all moving there to lead the project.
Developer CCP is arguably already the video game world’s official King of Space, as the creator of long-running, fascinatingly complex and fanatically beloved spaceship MMO EVE Online, which ties into free-to-play PS3 shooter Dust 514. EVE Valkyrie is set in the same universe, but it won’t have the complex gameplay of either. It’s a high-speed, high-adrenaline flight combat game.
CCP’s boss Hilmar Petursson had this to say: “From the moment this year’s Fanfest attendees first got their hands on EVE-VR, the question has been, ‘When can I have this?’ What started as a passion project by a small, incredibly talented group of CCP developers became one of the most highly anticipated games of the year — before we even announced it. We have big plans for EVE: Valkyrie and I can’t wait to share more details later this year.”
We’re looking forwarded to hearing more about Valkyrie from Gamescon and we’ll add more info when we hear about it, until then, enjoy the reveal trailer and let us know what you think in the comments
From August 23-25, you can experience the living, ever-changing world of Tyria and see for yourself why Guild Wars 2 is the fastest selling MMO in history.*
All you need to do to play Guild Wars 2 for free August 23-25 is create a free trial account, verify your email address, and download the game client.
The Guild Wars 2 free trial begins at 12:01 AM PDT on Friday, August 23, 2013 and ends at 11:59 PM PDT on Sunday, August 25, 2013.
*Based on initial 9 months physical and digital unit sales against PC pay-to-play games including North America, Europe, and Australasia. Source – DFC Intelligence
