Ask Lemmy

I would buy the Warcraft IP from Blizzard, just Warcraft.

I would lobby to bring back as many of the original developers and creative designers as possible into the newly formed Warcraft Company, including Chris Metzen and Russell Brower. (Though, some of those people would be made to sign formal apologies for doing nothing about the dudebro culture that was systemic inside Blizzard long before they got bought out.)

The goal would be to basically remaster the entire RTS franchise using modern hardware and software while keeping as close as possible to the original spirit of the games. Then continue the RTS franchise using the story from the MMO.

The MMO would be recreated from scratch using modern understanding and a modular, highly-adaptable architecture to prevent the duct tape and baling wire situation the current WoW has. The game itself would now feature story content going all the way back to the first Warcraft game. Each “chapter” of Warcraft lore would be a self contained experience that players could stay in forever or progress to the next arc in the overarching tale. There would be simple, single baseline cost for subscribing that included everything so you can decide for yourself which parts to play.

Measures would be taken to make the MMO just as fun and satisfying for casual players as it is for professional gamers. No more pay to jump ahead or even pay to get things that can’t be gotten by regular players. Using real money in-game would probably be completely eliminated. And the Warcraft Company would take an active role in preventing gaming addition and council existing players who needed help.

Outside of the games, other merchandise like art books and novels would reflect and complement the lore of the series to give people even more stuff to learn about and enjoy.

Movies and TV in particular would be a strong focus. A whole new movie series based on the parent games would be made with the same care as the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

(For the record, I like the existing Warcraft movie. But today, it could be done a lot better.)

And TV series would be made to tell more detailed stories about lesser-known events or to follow unique characters through well known events and see their unique takes.

All multimedia content would be free to stream for active subscribers to the online game.

Apps would be made to help players manage their games and access associated multimedia. There would also be an app to help gamers manage their time playing so they don’t overdo it but are still able to participate in limited events they care about.

Then… a theme park!

(I honestly think that if someone went forward with this proposal with reckless abandon that it actually would turn a profit.)