It’s no surprise that more Blizzard games are arriving on Xbox Game Pass, but we’re inching closer to a crossover that many might not have expected as Xbox unveils its June Game Pass lineup.
For June, Xbox revealed various titles coming to Game Pass, including FBC: Firebreak, a co-op shooter from the famous Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment.
But hidden behind that in the lineup is the fully remastered version of the Warcraft trilogy, which includes Warcraft I & II: Remastered and Warcraft III: Reforged.
The trilogy will arrive on June 26 for PC Game Pass. Now, the question on my mind is: World of Warcraft when?
Will Microsoft add the biggest MMORPG in history to Xbox Game Pass? How would that even work? Let’s talk about it.
World of Warcraft on Xbox Game Pass would be a dream crossover
I’ve played World of Warcraft on and off for many years now, and while I don’t always stick with it, it’s something that my friends and I always find our way back to.
I have a visceral memory of my demon hunter soloing Kil'jaeden in his final phase after all of my friends had perished in his shadow realm.
My friends and I primarily jump in and out of World of Warcraft because it costs too much money. If you aren’t aware, you need to pay a subscription to play the game (or at least to get access to all of the features), and that costs $15 per month, or $156 per year ($13/month).
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs $20 per month and features hundreds of games. If you’re open to playing new games, you’ll get way more out of Game Pass than WoW.
Imagine if 'World of Warcraft' came to Xbox Game Pass
But imagine if World of Warcraft came to Xbox Game Pass. That would be the sickest deal of all time. Realistically, however, I don’t see that happening at its current price point.
If Microsoft were serious about bringing WoW to Game Pass, it’d likely adjust the cost and offer a separate, unique subscription like "Xbox Game Pass World of Warcraft Ultimate," or something goofy like that.
At minimum, I could see Xbox charging $30 for that subscription, which would be a $5 discount on the monthly WoW subscription.
Maybe a new host of people who never had or cared about Game Pass would get it and start playing other games as well. That would expose more people to all of the games on there, which would help a lot of developers out there. That’s just an optimistic take on the potential of the situation.
As it stands, it’s more likely Microsoft would rather keep that $5 to maintain its steady cash flow from the billion-dollar earning MMORPG.
But if Microsoft ever did do it, you can bet that I’ll be throwing my money at it. You'd find me somewhere in Azeroth, exploring the wilderness while queuing up to get bodied by the latest Mythic dungeons.
