For years now, fans of the Warcraft franchise have been able to enjoy their favorite world both on the screen and through countless novels. Blizzard tends to not let a year go by without releasing a brand-new novel set on Azeroth. These Warcraft novels take many forms and serve many purposes for World of Warcraft's story. There are expansion prequel novels, retellings of in-game events, in-universe tales, stories set during expansions, and even history textbooks about Azeroth. These novels have provided some in-depth lore and much needed context for the greater Warcraft story, but they could be so much more.
One of the common criticisms that is levied against the Warcraft books is the fact that some very important lore has been relegated to this format. Instead of showing events like Garrosh Hellscream's trial in World of Warcraft, Blizzard chose to tell it in a novel called War Crimes. While the novel can do a better job of explaining the events and giving players a look into the mind of various characters, there are some events that fans wish were present in-game. Blizzard may not be able to go back and add these events to World of Warcraft, but it could take the stories being told in the novels and create small-scale video game experiences instead. Doing so would not only help players visualize these stories, but it could also help to capitalize on the Warcraft brand while showcasing important events in Azeroth's history.
The Warcraft Novels Contain Boatloads of Lore
For years, the Warcraft novels have helped to build out the world of Azeroth and tell events that players have only heard about. There have been many novels with more releasing almost every year that further shape Azeroth. These novels have been filled to the brim with lore for players to dissect and discuss. They have been enjoyed by Warcraft fans ever since the first one released in 2006, and Blizzard is showing no signs of stopping.
As of now, Blizzard has released 22 World of Warcraft novels along with seven Warcraft novels, and that is not even mentioning the big lore books or in-universe books. These novels have covered a range of different, and important, events in Azeroth's history. The War of the Ancients trilogy told the story of the sundering of Azeroth and the early days of some iconic characters like Malfurion Stormrage, The Shattering set up the Cataclysm expansion and began the reshaping of Azeroth, Shadows Rising told the events directly after Sylvanas Windrunner's betrayal in Battle for Azeroth, and Dawn of the Aspects depicted the history of the aspects on Azeroth. These novels have taken many forms, and the lore is just waiting to make it to the games.
Blizzard Should Capitalize on Warcraft Using The Novels
Blizzard has not done much to capitalize on the Warcraft brand since the release of World of Warcraft. Since it is one of the largest MMOs on the market, it makes sense that Blizzard would spend much of its resources on developing the game. However, Riot Games has found the time to capitalize on its mega-popular League of Legends with multiple spin-off games, and Blizzard needs to do the same. Since the release of World of Warcraft, there have only been two non-canon spin-offs, and that needs to change.
One of the easiest things that Blizzard could do is to take the various novels it has released and turn them into small game experiences. The stories have already been written, the developers would just have to figure out what type of game it could be. Maybe it takes the Warcraft franchise back to its roots with an RTS set during the War of the Ancients. Blizzard could make an adventure game chronicling Arthas Menethil's entire journey using Arthas: Rise of the Lich King as the source material. It could even release a game all about the events at Theramore with Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War as the inspiration.
Turning the novels into video games would not only help Blizzard capitalize on the brand, but it would also help alleviate the criticism that these events should be in-game. If players were able to experience these stories without having to purchase the novels, then Warcraft may be better for it. While the studio does not need to stop releasing the novels, turning them into games could be a great step forward.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.