Blizzard world builder Matthew Armstrong says World of Warcraft: Forever aims for a faithful vanilla feel, not a retail-style experience.
Since its announcement at BlizzCon 2026, WoW Forever has been a hot topic in gaming. The game’s first beta immediately broke down because so many people tried to play it. Now, a World of Warcraft World Builder is giving his perspective on who this relaunch of the vanilla WoW experience is for.
WoW Forever Dev Says Convenience Is the Death of the Journey
On Twitter on September 22, Blizzard world builder Matthew Armstrong said World of Warcraft: Forever aims for a faithful vanilla feel, not a retail-style feel.
He wanted to clearly state that he’s not throwing shade at retail players, admitting that he is one himself, but he wanted to make sure that WoW Forever has the closest to an authentic feel possible. He also said he felt a duty to uphold the artistic vision and integrity the fan base expects from Blizzard, and he felt obligated to maintain the same level of integrity and artistic vision as people who have worked on WoW in the past.
I did not spend the last year of my life relearning and mastering how to do things like we did it 20+ years ago for retail players. I could have taken it easy and just kept doing things like I had done for the past 8 years on retail…because I was much more familiar with it and it actually takes a lot less time to do (height maps on textures do a ton of heavy lifting). Because the reality is that the majority of retail players wouldn’t care and would probably actually prefer it. But I felt I had a duty to uphold an artistic vision and integrity that millions of people expect from us. But not just for our players, but for my co-workers past and present who worked on it over 20 years ago. If I could not create something that resembled their work then I failed not only them…but myself.
Please do not take this as me throwing any shade at retail players or the retail team because I am one myself…but I wanted to make Forever as authentic of a Vanilla experience as possible. This involves making decisions wildly different than retail. It means holding the line against changes that create a domino affect down the road. It means keeping friction and inconveniences in the game. It means finding friends and forming groups with strangers and being social!! Because WoWs social aspects have always been the pillar of the game and over the years it has slowly been chiseled away at with changes that allow you play alone.
Since the day I started working on the Riverglades I have lived by three sayings.
“Convenience is the death of the journey.”
“If you’re making a game for everyone then you’re making it for no one.”
“Every change we make incurs a debt to the authenticity of the game and sooner or later that debt will be paid.”
These are my core beliefs and I had a specific group of people I was targeting with my work. These beliefs cannot be shaken and I will try to hold the line against anything that goes against them and will continue to pester the team about things that feel out of place.
That being said, my hope is that Forever will pull in as many people as possible, whether you are a retail gamer, a classic gamer, someone who hasn’t played in years, or even a new player. I hope you can all remember what made this game so special in the first place and that starts with
What do you think? Are you excited to play World of Warcraft: Forever? Let us know down in the comments and in the official Insider Gaming Discord.
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