After over two decades, World of Warcraft could finally be one step closer to making its long-awaited Xbox debut, with Blizzard offering encouraging comments about the MMORPG's future beyond PC. The latest World of Warcraft development comes as the studio prepares to launch an ambitious new version of Azeroth that could change how players experience the franchise.

Originally released in 2004, World of Warcraft has spent more than 20 years as one of PC gaming's most recognizable exclusives and cultural touchpoints. Despite its enormous popularity, Blizzard has never brought the MMORPG to consoles, even as competitors like Final Fantasy 14 have demonstrated that the genre can work well with a controller. That could eventually change with World of Warcraft: Forever, a new version of the game launching November 4 and built around the original Azeroth. Forever is set to combine classic gameplay with new content, modernized visuals, and several quality-of-life improvements; however, one particular addition could have implications well beyond the upcoming release.

World of Warcraft: Forever's latest racial changes risk reviving Classic WoW's worst habit: turning character creation into a min-maxing contest.

Speaking with GamesRadar , World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale discussed how WoW: Forever 's native controller support could eventually open the door to more platforms. "Play it wherever you want and, at some point, on whatever you want," Longdale said, adding that getting gamepads to work properly is the first step toward that goal. She also pointed to Project Helix, Microsoft's next-generation Xbox hardware, as an example of how the boundaries between platforms could become less distinct in the future.

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