Within the video game industry, when rumors start to swirl most companies opt for silence. In some instances, developers and publishers don't delay in responding to rumors to prevent them from spreading further across the internet. Developer Blizzard decided to quell a recent rumor that was quickly gaining traction.
Rumors sprung up yesterday that that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is coming to the Xbox Series X. Blizzard has addressed the rumor with a frank response. A representative told Polygon that there are "no plans" to bring World of Warcraft or its upcoming expansion Shadowlands to consoles.
The rumor started yesterday when the Brazilian rating board noting World of Warcraft: Shadowlands for both PC and Xbox Series X. The classification was caught quickly by Gematsu and spread across the internet. Blizzard directly responded to the rating by saying it was nothing more than an "error" on the website. Blizzard further clarified about a possible Shadowlands console port by stating that the expansion is "only coming to PC."
While Blizzard's frank response to hopes of World of Warcraft finally moving to consoles may be a downer for fans, this kind of ratings board error is not uncommon. Gematsu's initial tweet posed the possibility that the it may be an error. Rating boards are a common source for gaming leaking with both real and disappointing results. One of the recent big leaks came through the European ratings board was the Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remaster.
World of Warcraft may not be coming to consoles but there is still ample reason for WoW players to celebrate as the Shadowlands expansion prepares for its launch later this year. While Blizzard has not provided a firm release date for the eighth expansion for the now 14-year-old MMO, the developer and publisher has confirmed that Shadowlands will release in Fall.
One of the other, stranger reasons that fans got their hopes up for a possible World of Warcraft console port is that Blizzard recently announced that it was fixing the biggest barrier. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands will support controllers for the first time since the game launched in 2004. Although, Blizzard was quick to note that they did not want the new option to make WoW "feel like a console game."
So as fans eagerly await the next WoW expansion to introduce a new adventure, they can always prepare with Shadowlands' pre-patch.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.
Source: Polygon