World of Warcraft has made major steps toward being playable on consoles in recent years. Shadowlands finally added official controller support, Dragonflight added an interact button, and Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard, so it’s understandable if you’re wondering whether WoW will soon be playable on Xbox consoles.
Is World of Warcraft coming to Xbox?
WoW The War Within is not playable on Xbox at the time of writing, and a 2022 interview with Ion Hazzikostas suggests Blizzard has no plans to port WoW to consoles. Hazzikostas told IGN: “Nah, I think World of Warcraft is a game designed from the ground up for the PC.” However, WoW has made several crucial steps toward console playability in the last few years, so I wouldn’t rule out its potential console launch entirely.
Fans are speculating that WoW is coming to Xbox Game Pass—particularly since the Official Xbox Podcast revealed that Activision Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass, with Diablo 4 being the first. If WoW comes to Xbox Game Pass, it makes sense that an Xbox launch could be on the cards.
Plus, WoW is technically playable on Xbox at the time of writing, though not through official means. You can stream WoW to your Xbox console from the cloud if you subscribe to Nvidia’s GeForce NOW streaming service. If you go this route, you should use the unofficial Console Port addon, which gives you a console-friendly interface and lets you easily bind spells and abilities to your controller buttons. It also works great on a Steam Deck.
Considering that Blizzard added official controller support two expansions ago and specifically added an interact key in Dragonflight, it’s hard to believe an Xbox launch is completely off the table. These are critical components of a console MMORPG, and further additions that reduce the barrier to entry might be in the works.
While WoW still has features that would be difficult to use without a keyboard and mouse—particularly interface elements, like the auction house and crafting window—other MMOs, like Final Fantasy XIV, manage it just fine. So, I think WoW will probably come to Xbox consoles at some point in the future, but only if Blizzard manages to make its interface panels work with a controller.
