Who wants to make an Alienware Arena neighborhood in World of Warcraft?!
 

Greetings my fellow Aliens! May we all be living long and prosperous, and when I say living, I mean living in World of Warcraft! I may have said it once or twice, or maybe three times, but I am a big MMORPG gamer, and WoW is my original love that got me into MMOs. I’ve played WoW since vanilla but have dabbled in others like Guild Wars, Aion, BDO, ESO, FF XIV, Lost Ark, New World, Club Penguin, etc., there’s a lot of them! So, I feel compelled to dive into a big thing that is coming to World of Warcraft for, arguably, the first time: player housing!
 

In World of Warcraft’s next expansion as part of the dubbed 'World Soul Saga' is Midnight. A clearly void-drawn theme that is the next major step as the 2nd expansion in this 3-part saga, culminating to The Last Titan as the final expansion - we may talk about that at a different time. The addition of player housing marks a massive shift in Azeroth, allowing players to fully immerse themselves in personalization, community-building, and long-term engagement in a way never before seen in WoW. Above I noted "arguably the first time", for all my non-WoW nerds, back in 2014 when Warlords of Draenor (WoD) came out, Blizzard introduced garrisons, which was a temporary and limited system somewhat adjacent to what we would consider player housing. Your garrison in WoD was only accessible by you and was considered a private space and ultimately was detrimental to the social aspect of what makes an MMO an MMO. This time, Blizzard is committing to a fully-fledged housing feature that will persist beyond a single expansion as compared to the meager attempt with garrisons, and I know some people are definitely here for it – including me!  

At launch, two primary housing zones will be available—one for the Alliance and one for the Horde. The Alliance zone takes inspiration from Elwynn Forest (shoutout <Elwynn Picnic Club>), Westfall, and Duskwood, creating a rustic, classic fantasy aesthetic. The Horde zone, in contrast, reflects the rugged landscapes of Durotar, its coastline, and Azshara, capturing the tribal, battle-worn feel of the faction. What is crazy is that these homes will be situated within neighborhoods, that's right, neighborhoods, each containing approximately 50 plots! Public neighborhoods will be automatically generated, allowing for a mix of players, while private neighborhoods will be customizable, making them ideal for guilds or groups of friends who want to create their own community spaces. Now you see the dream? Alienware Arena neighborhood incoming!
 

Of course, with player housing, customization is at the heart of this system, giving players a vast array of options to personalize both the interior and exterior of their homes. Furniture, decorations, and thematic elements reflecting character achievements, professions, and cultural backgrounds will all be available. Most customization items will be earned through gameplay, but you know our overlord Blizzard, there will be a select number of cosmetic options purchasable, much like mounts, pets, and transmogs in the current in-game store. Blizzard has emphasized that the focus remains on delivering a player-first experience rather than a monetized system, but we will see how that plays out at the end of the day. -- and that is coming from a gamer who totally didn't purchase the $90 mount. *cough*.
 

The good news is, player housing in Midnight will be widely accessible, with no prohibitive costs or requirements to unlock it, ensuring that every player can participate in this new experience. As a player, I was a bit worried that this feature was going to be locked behind something initially as the carrot, so I am glad to hear that Blizzard is looking to take this approach – though my paywall/xpwall alarmbot is still on waiting to alert. Unlike past expansion-specific features like Azerite Power in Battle for Azeroth (aka borrowed-power systems) for example, Blizzard has confirmed that player housing is designed as a permanent, ever-evolving addition to the game, with ongoing updates and expansions planned. Granted, it would be a bit awkward to introduce player housing and then remove it for the next expansion, so I am glad that we can put all the naysayers to rest here and sleep peacefully tonight. 

I know I am excited to see how player housing comes into the mix of what is already a massive world! The idea of these neighborhoods sounds really fun and depends on how they end up truly working, I can imagine some absolutely hilarious interactions with "neighbors" and bringing back the social aspect of WoW that my Classic Era players and I love so much! I am optimistic that this new feature is set to revolutionize WoW, offering new ways for players to express themselves, interact socially, and establish deep connections within the world of Azeroth. It is a long-requested system that Blizzard is finally delivering in a way that appears to have the main goal: do it better than anyone has done so far!  

What do you think about player housing in video games? What is your favorite iteration of player housing in a video game? Would something like this get you into playing WoW for the first time? To my WoW players: what do you think?! Are you stoked?! Let’s chat in the comments!