Blizzard Entertainment is exploring the possibility of bringing World of Warcraft: Forever to consoles, with a company executive hinting at future cross-platform play.
Controller support has been added to World of Warcraft: Forever, a new version of the long-running MMO that launched its beta with significant popularity. Vice president and executive producer Holly Longdale told GamesRadar that while the focus is currently on perfecting gamepad functionality for PC, the long-term goal is broader accessibility. "Play it wherever you want and, at some point, on whatever you want," Longdale stated regarding the game's future. "But the first leg of that journey is getting gamepads working really well with World of Warcraft, and we thought Forever was the perfect place to start."
Longdale also noted the increasing ubiquity of gaming platforms and mentioned interest in devices like the Xbox Project Helix, a rumored PC-console hybrid. She added that players are already finding ways to run the game on handheld PCs like the ROG Ally X, suggesting the groundwork for controller support could extend beyond traditional consoles. "I think just doing some of the work we're doing on gamepad is going to give players a lot of flexibility that I think goes beyond consoles."
World of Warcraft: Forever officially launches on November 4. The game's beta reportedly saw the largest participation in the series' history, despite Blizzard acknowledging that not all development decisions may be universally popular. Longdale indicated that the studio has learned to avoid catering solely to the most vocal players.