Fan-Made World of Warcraft Launcher is a Heavy Dose of Nostalgia
A fully-functioning World of Warcraft launcher emerges in the community, offering a look at an earlier era while still accommodating new expansions.
It’s been almost a decade since World of Warcraft was consolidated into the Battle.net platform, but one passionate player created a concept that depicts an alternate timeline where Blizzard never retired its iconic launcher in the first place. Prior to Battle.net transitioning into a library for Blizzard games, titles such as World of Warcraft and Diablo 3 each had dedicated launchers. Many players look back to this era fondly, as few things sparked such excitement for Blizzard fans as when they’d insert their StarCraft 2 installation disks only to be greeted by a fully-narrated recap of events from the past game, accompanied by an epic orchestral score.
Much like Battle.net today, the Blizzard launcher of the past once served as a gateway for players into the Koprulu Sector, Sanctuary, or in this case Azeroth. It introduced many novel features such as allowing players to enjoy their game while it was still being downloaded in the background, and it served as a news feed that kept fans up-to-date. Retired in Mists of Pandaria‘s Siege of Orgrimmar patch, it represents a major source of nostalgia for the World of Warcraft community.
Tapping into that nostalgia, a player named Parquelle recreated the Blizzard launcher for all the World of Warcraft expansions that never had it such as Warlords of Draenor or Battle for Azeroth. The launcher isn’t just for show, as Parquelle developed a fully functioning app with its own GitHub page that players can visit. Drawing a comparison with the third-party version of Final Fantasy 14‘s launcher, many fans have expressed a desire for a similarly lightweight equivalent for World of Warcraft.
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As Embers of Neltharion embarks players on a subterranean journey, Parquelle’s project represents the perfect counter-balance for the community to reminisce about a simpler time in World of Warcraft‘s history. Unlike its predecessors, Dragonflight has been an enjoyable experience for many World of Warcraft fans, which allows them to look at the earlier expansions through a healthier perspective, and with better clarity. While it’s unlikely for Blizzard to bring back the launcher in an official capacity, it’s strangely fitting for it to be released in an expansion pack that famously brought back old concepts such as talent trees.
Dragonflight Season 2 is fast approaching, and World of Warcraft is offering a free trial centered around Embers of Neltharion’s release, allowing players with an active subscription to delve into Dragonflight content without needing to purchase the expansion pack. With a heavy discount on World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, it’s clear that Blizzard still seeks to bring its players back to the game after the exodus that occurred in Shadowlands, and given how accessible other MMO trials are by comparison, it’s a sound business move by any measure.
World of Warcraft is available now for PC.
Source: GitHub
Source: gamerant.com
