World of Warcraft has been a PC-only MMORPG since its launch back in 2024. Yet every few years, rumors circulate about the potential of WoW finally making its way to consoles. Earlier this year, an Xbox Game Pass email referencing Blizzard’s MMO led to renewed speculation. The email, later confirmed to have been sent in error, led many to think WoW might be headed to Game Pass, and to Xbox consoles by extension. This, combined with a few major changes from the Midnight expansion, has caused those WoW on console rumors to intensify yet again in 2025.
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The latest World of Warcraft expansion, WoW: Midnight, is set to release sometime in 2026. And while we don’t have an exact release date, Blizzard has shared plenty of details on its latest expansion. And there will be some major gameplay changes, including simplified class mechanics, that led some players to suspect the MMO is finally headed to consoles. In a recent interview on the World of Warcraft-focused Unshackled Fury podcast, WoW‘s senior game director, Ion Hazzikostas, addressed those console port rumors.
No, World of Warcraft Isn’t Coming To Console Any Time Soon
Ion Hazzikkostas recently appeared on the Unshackled Fury podcast to discuss the upcoming WoW expansion and the future of the MMORPG. As part of this conversation, Hazzikostas addressed the potential of WoW on console. And for those hoping to explore the realms on PS5 or Xbox in the near future, it’s not good news.
When Jez Corden brought up the possibility of WoW console port, Hazzikostas did not mince words. “There’s no reason to hide anything about this,” he said. “If we were actively working towards bringing World of Warcraft to consoles or a bunch of other platforms, we’d be saying ‘we’re actively working towards it.’ ” In other words, if a console port was in the works, we wouldn’t have to rely on speculation and rumors. Blizzard would let us know.
Instead, the focus continues to be the PC-based World of Warcraft experience, as it has been for over 20 years. The upcoming changes to the game are about making it more approachable in general, not specifically for a console port or audience. Blizzard’s hopes are to work towards making World of Warcraft “easy to learn, nearly impossible to master,” keeping the skill ceiling high but making it easier for new players to join.
This is all well and good, but it’s bad news for potential WoW players who have opted for consoles over a robust gaming PC. These days, many gamers have one or the other, but not necessarily both. So, remaining a PC only title potentially limits WoW‘s ability to grow beyond its current target audience.
But for now, it seems pretty clear that a console port of WoW isn’t secretly being developed. That said, there’s certainly space for an MMORPG like this one to perform on console. Other MMORPG console ports like The Elder Scrolls Online and Final Fantasy XIV prove there is room for these kinds of games on these platforms. Even Blizzard’s own Diablo franchise has performed quite well on consoles, proving that the company certainly can bring its titles to other platforms. But once again, Blizzard is squashing the rumors that WoW plans to join these other console ports any time soon.
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[H/T: GameSpot]
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