World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is wrapping up in the upcoming Eternity’s End patch, so players are expecting the next expansion to be announced soon. Recent encrypted assets discovered in World of Warcraft include a new mount, suggesting a draconic-themed expansion is coming soon.

The encrypted content found in World of Warcraft contained assets for a mount, a pet, and a few additional items and models. All together, the package is similar to those in Deluxe Edition rewards from previous expansions, suggesting WoW could be working towards an expansion announcement and preorder soon.

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Though little is known about the other parts of this package, a few details about the mount have been datamined. The mount’s file name, 9fx_drakemountemerald_buff_4219045, suggests it is a green dragon–the druidic guardians of the Emerald Dream. The file itself is massive for a mount at 8.9MB, dwarfing Shadowlands’ high-fidelity Ensorcelled Everwyrm’s 2.7MB, meaning the mount will probably be incredibly detailed. The file contained a few spell effect textures and a full spell effect that were not encrypted as well, all of which fit the green dragon theme.

wow dragon isles expansion deluxe edition mount datamined particles

This encrypted package is one of several hints at a dragon-themed expansion in World of Warcraft’s future. At the end of last year, Blizzard offered a Dragon Pack cash shop bundle, pairing several draconic mounts and minions together in a theming tactic used in the past to hint at future releases. More recently, a leak from a supposed World of Warcraft development Discord detailed plans for an expansion around the Dragon Isles–a location hinted at in old concept art, GM assets, and lore easter eggs.

World of Warcraft fans are cautious, but optimistic, about the mounting evidence for a dragon expansion. Dragons are a popular aspect of Warcraft lore, and while dragon characters have been in the story–like Ebyssian, Wrathion, and Ysera–they have not been the focus of an expansion since Cataclysm in 2010. As protectors of Azeroth, such an expansion would also likely focus around the world players have come to love, avoiding the distant, otherworldly story that has been the biggest criticism of Shadowlands.

There is still plenty of concern regarding the nature of these leaks. Beyond its speculative nature, the encrypted mount could just as easily point to an Emerald Dream-based expansion. While players might have wanted such a thing in the past, most of the known Emerald Dream story arcs were wrapped up in Legion, and the last thing players want to do after spending two years in the realm of death is to spend two years in the realm of life. World of Warcraft has lost a lot of faith from its players over the last years because of baffling story decisions, predatory business models, and corruption within Blizzard leadership. Between the tumult from its lawsuits and Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard, the next World of Warcraft expansion pack could make or break the mainstay MMORPG.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available on PC. Eternity's End is currently in development.

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Source: Wowhead