Blizzard has announced that World of Warcraft Forever, a new iteration of its long-running MMO, will feature official gamepad support, a first for the franchise. This new version, described as a "Classic Plus" experience, aims to offer players more flexibility in how they interact with the game.
While World of Warcraft has traditionally relied on keyboard and mouse input, the developers see gamepad support as a significant step towards greater accessibility and player agency. Nora Valletta, lead software engineer on the game, explained that the feature aligns with the project's goal of exploring new ideas for player interaction. "We see gamepad support as one of those things as providing players with another way to interface with the game," she stated, noting that it allows for a more relaxed playstyle, such as playing from a couch.
Tim Jones, lead game designer, echoed this sentiment, framing the controller support as another pillar in Blizzard's ongoing commitment to accessibility, alongside features like improved colorblindness modes and screen narration. "We just see having really amazing controller support as another pillar of that accessibility [push] and an opportunity for people to play the game in a different way," Jones said.
The implementation has been developed with input from other Blizzard teams experienced in controller integration. Players can seamlessly switch between keyboard and mouse and gamepad controls. The setup includes mapping friendly targeting to the left bumper and enemy targeting to the right bumper on Xbox controllers. The left analog stick initiates auto-run, while clicking the right analog stick pings objects. Most in-game actions are assigned to the d-pad and face buttons, with the triggers used to toggle between different sets of actions.
Despite the robust controller functionality, developers have indicated that World of Warcraft Forever is not being developed for consoles or handheld PCs. The focus remains on providing PC players with an additional, comfortable way to engage with the game. The team emphasized that they approached the implementation with a fresh perspective, aiming for a natural feel rather than directly copying existing solutions.
Players will have the opportunity to test the gamepad controls during the World of Warcraft Forever beta, which is scheduled to begin on September 17. The full release of the game is set for November 4.