WoW Forever: controller support now, consoles later

Blizzard is keeping World of Warcraft: Forever on PC for now, even though the game supports controllers for the first time. Holly Longdale, vice president and executive producer, told GamesRadar that the goal is to let people play it wherever they want and, eventually, on whatever device they want. The first step, she said, is getting gamepads working well with World of Warcraft, and Forever was the right place to start.

Longdale also mentioned the Xbox Project Helix, described as a PC-console hybrid, and said she has seen people getting the game running on the ROG Ally X. According to her, the gamepad work should give players flexibility that goes beyond consoles.

World of Warcraft: Forever launches on 4 November. It is a third version of the game that sits alongside the Classic and Retail versions, and its beta was described as the largest in the series' history.

Longdale also said some of the team's decisions won't please everyone equally. Her takeaway: you don't listen to the loudest people in the room.

A console release is not announced. Longdale's comments point to a direction, not a date or a list of platforms. For now, the confirmed change is controller support on PC, with the game out on 4 November.