I have a theory (and it is only that, a theory) that The Last Titan will be the end of World of Warcraft. Not an end of the franchise or even the MMORPG, but of the game World of Warcraft.
So, if you know the lore of the Warcraft Universe, then you know that “The Last Titan” is a POWERFUL title. An apocalyptic one, even. I believe that the events of TLT will bring the story to WoW to a close, and set the stage for a full blown reset of the universe, allowing for what will essentially be WoW 2.
Azeroth (the planet) will become unlivable or be outright destroyed, and the races of Azeroth (not all of them, the vast majority will perish) will have to escape the way it all began… through The Dark Portal. However, instead of going to Draenor, they find an entirely new home with a brand new set of challenges. And so, it begins again.
Interesting theory but likely not the case. Their will never be some sort of like WoW 2 or anything. The engines only going to continuously be updated. They want us to be playing another 20 years+ not finish this 3 expansion saga and end it. That was already blatantly stated.
Why not? A WoW 2 existing is not mutually exclusive with anything you listed. Playing for the next 20+ years can be done on a WoW 2 that is narratively reset, not technically reset. They can use the same engine and upgrade it. It’s about starting fresh and getting themselves out of the narrative canyon they’ve dug for themselves without retconning a third of all lore.
The birth of Azeroth could just reshape the surface of the world, generating new lands but with familiar things of the old version. There is no need to move everyone to other planet.
Because if they were to make a “WoW2” it would be dead upon arrival.
The reason why WoW is still relevant and in many, many regards still king of MMOs is because it is WoW. 20 years old with design elements that no longer works in modern MMOs. It works because of its reputation as World of Warcraft. Every other game that has tried to mimic that has failed catastrophically!
If WoW were to be discontinued for a WoW 2 then… why not play another modern MMO already? Why not go elsewhere?
World of Warcraft is aging and that’s the only way folks will truly stop playing the game. And even then, when it is long past it’s time, it’ll be possible to make money from the game by re-releasing content through Classic, to re-imagine it again … as is currently happening. WoW is king because of its name and age, deleting that to try to capture an audience that isn’t and will never be interested in WoW is a losing proposition.
It is entirely possible that down the road we’ll get other games set in the Warcraft universe, but we will never see a WoW2. Maybe one day the engine gets completely overhauled and we see some of the modern concepts more realized in game, and maybe then it receives the nickname of WoW 2 Electric Boogaloo. But there won’t ever be a World of Warcraft 2 in any official capacity.
To think anything else is just a dream, and also most likely a nightmare.
“However, the culmination of The Worldsoul Saga in the Last Titan expansion is not the end of World of Warcraft, just the end of that big chapter. Blizzard will continue to do expansions beyond that.”
-From the Digital Trends interview with Warcraft franchise General Manager John Hight
Doubt, because even blizzard understands that there will never be game like world of warcraft. Once they finish it it’s done forever. WoW is already a dying game, they wont release wow 2.0 or whatever internet is trolling about. Why? Because by blizzards reputation and how things were going those past few years it will be just another flop.
Milk until you can.