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The future of World of Warcraft is in housing, as the game invites players to own "a little slice of Azeroth"

Of everything discussed at the Evolving Azeroth panel at PAX East 2025, housing was the most anticipated by both the crowd of World of Warcraft fans and the developers on stage

An image of housing from World of Warcraft
Image credit: Blizzard

For as many places that you can currently visit in the sprawling universe of World of Warcraft, there are currently none that you can call home. But that's about to change, as housing is coming to Azeroth in a massive way. Yes, you will soon be able to own your own home in one of the world's most popular MMORPGs, and as you can imagine, that was a big topic at PAX East 2025.

Specifically, it was a big topic at the Evolving Azeroth: Creating a Living World: Past, Present and Future panel held on the Main Stage at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center during the four-day event. Blizzard Community Manager Randy Jordan was moderating this panel, and it was only a few minutes in that Jordan brought up this hotly-anticipated facet of the game.

"In my experience with this community," began Jordan, "There has never been anything that was more beloved, and more requested, than housing. Housing feels like the culmination of a question this community has been asking since the beginning of World of Warcraft. Tell me, how did the team get started on housing?"

It was Jesse Kurlancheek, WoW's principal game designer, that answered Jordan's question. "Housing has been worked on in WoW for years," Kurlancheek said of the concept's history, "You can you find old remnants of datamined houses in very crufty versions of the game."

(No, "crufty" is not technically a word. But we'd wager you know what it means anyway.)

"The more modern attempt at housing," Kurlancheek said, "Started years before I got there, and the team ended up pitching a bunch of really compelling prototypes [...] and now, we have a pretty big team working on housing."

"In the evolving Azeroth," he continued, "You've all been playing through for, in some cases, 20 years. But our characters have only been visiting Azeroth. We come, we stay at an inn, and we log off. [...] Now, you have a home. you have your own little slice of Azeroth that you can make your own."

What does making your own little slice of Azeroth mean? Associate Design Director Maria Hamilton explained.

"One of the most exciting things in a designer sort of way," said Hamilton, "is the potential to have quests that you get rewards [in the form of] things you can do for your house. Things you can decorate with your house with, things that are mementos of achievements that you managed."

"Right now," Hamilton expanded, "the designers are very excited about decor, because we are excited about all sorts of different things that could go into your house and be an awesome reward. To get you guys out there exploring the world."

"You can make a scary house," Kurlancheek expands on the choice, "You can make a cozy house."

To wrap up his comments, Kurlancheek brings up a facet that is as brilliant to include with housing as it is obvious. That is, neighbors.

"You can invite your friends over," he said, "You can have birthday parties, you can do all of these role-playing things [...] You're in the larger space of a neighborhood. and there are groups of friends, there are communities, there are guilds that are inhabiting a shared space. And will have space in years to come. Your progression in housing is forever, if you want it to be. It's super exciting when you think about how you interact with the world now, and how we interact with it in the near future."


You don't need to beat the game to prepare for the next one—here are all the major new and upcoming games coming our way.

About PAX East 2025

PAX East is a celebration of gaming and gaming culture featuring thought-provoking panels, a massive expo hall filled with the best publishers and studios, new game demos, musical performances, tournaments, and a community experience unlike any other. No matter your preferred genre or platform, if you love games, welcome home.

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Boston

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Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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