Blizzard explains plans on affordable WoW neighborhood Housing system with "Home for Everyone" mantra

Modified Feb 06, 2025 16:15 IST

We’ve known for a while that a housing system is coming to WoW, but there’s been precious little in terms of information about this upcoming system. Many MMOs have housing systems, but just as many of those systems are broken or frustrating. Having to wait for a lottery in Final Fantasy 14, for example, or seeing one Free Company owns 20+ houses, or something ridiculous. There are other games that require you to pay rent, and failure means you lose that house.

We still don’t have a release date for the WoW housing system, but we do know that it will be in the Midnight expansion, which will have its official reveal later on in 2025. The hope is that we’ll see more sooner rather than later. Here’s what the developers revealed about their current plans for housing in Azeroth.

Blizzard’s upcoming WoW housing system is for everyone

A housing system is something WoW players have wanted for years, but there’s always a bit of fear that comes with something like that. There are so many frustrating housing systems across MMOs, and World of Warcraft already has plenty of gold sinks, such as buying expensive items or cool mounts from the Black Market.

This is just some really neat concept art for housing interiors (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

So it’s understandable if there’s worry that this will become a frustrating, expensive thing. However, Blizzard has made it clear that its not going to be the case. According to the recent housing blogpost the developers stated:

“As a part of our focus on wide adoption, we wanted to ensure that Housing is available to everyone. If you want a house, you can have a house. No exorbitant requirements or high purchase costs, no lotteries, and no onerous upkeep (and if your subscription lapses, don’t worry, your house doesn’t get repossessed!).”

In addition, the developers opened up about the real money costs for the housing system in WoW. They admitted they have seen conversations in the community on whether or not this system would be pay-to-win or not — or require real money. If a player wants a house in Azeroth, they can have one, which is incredibly important.

Blizzard has stated that this housing system is “player-first and not revenue-first.” There will be some items available in the real-money shop, but hundreds more will be available in-game — similar to how pets and transmogs are in the shop. The team has also revealed the three tenets they are designing this system around:

Boundless Self-Expression: The highest priority is letting players build a house that shows their own tastes or their Warbands. It can be a place for roleplay or just to relax. The toolset should be easy enough for people without 3D experience to use but potent enough to let players create truly impressive designs.
Deeply Social: Housing should definitely be social. Sure, you can enjoy it on your own, but thanks to neighborhoods and communities, players can interact with others in a way not possible before.
Long-Lasting Journey: This housing system is meant to be evergreen, with its own roadmap of content and updates. It’s not something that will just be forgotten after Midnight. It’s not something players should expect to “finish” but update whenever they see fit.

Housing zones and communities are important to the WoW housing system

I can't wait to see how this all comes together (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Instead of having a ton of zones, Blizzard decided on simply having two zones. The first is for the Alliance, designed around Elwynn Forest, Westfall, and Duskwood. The second is for the Horde and is made to look like Durotar’s coastline and Azshara.

Having too many housing zones would make it less social and violate the above tenets. It would make it much too difficult to interact with friends/guildmates. Plus, they said bluntly, zones are a lot of work. Instead, they’re making two zones.

In addition, this system will also have neighborhoods! They teased this system in the WoW housing system blogpost, and it’s pretty interesting. Houses are organized into roughly 50 plot neighborhoods, so players can live next to each other and share in “the rewards of being part of the Neighborhood.”

They’re instanced, but also persistent. There will also be Public and Private Neighborhoods, so you can create a neighborhood for your guild, or just your friends. It’s all incredibly exciting. Players on their own can have a house, but a community can come together for a neighborhood.

I can’t wait to see what my guild comes up with when this system goes live — the Moonlit community neighborhood will no doubt be amazing.

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Edited by Ripunjay Gaba