Next Expansion: WoW Cataclysm?
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pixiestixy on Thursday, July 2, 2009 - 68 Comments Tags: azeroth, blizzard, cataclysm, emerald dream, expansion, great sundering, maelstrom, mmo, new expansion, new mmo, the next expansion, trademark, vortex, war of the ancients, well of eternity, wow expansion
pixiestixy on Thursday, July 2, 2009 - 68 Comments Tags: azeroth, blizzard, cataclysm, emerald dream, expansion, great sundering, maelstrom, mmo, new expansion, new mmo, the next expansion, trademark, vortex, war of the ancients, well of eternity, wow expansion 
A series of trademark requests that Blizzard Entertainment recently filed may indicate the possible name and lore of the next World of Warcraft expansion. Wednesday, Tumblr blogger Supererogatory revealed that Blizzard is seeking trademarks that would include computer games, paper-based products and online games with the name "Cataclysm."For all we know, that could be the name of Blizzard's super-secret project under development, a new MMO or something else completely unrelated to WoW. But given the name's relationship to the Maelstrom, some people (including myself) speculate that this could be the name for the next WoW expansion.
There's been a great deal of speculation for a long while now that the next expansion will relate to the swirling vortex of power that lies between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, the Maelstrom. To refresh your memory, the Maelstrom was created in a huge world event at the end of the War of the Ancients, thousands of years ago. Often referred to as the Cataclysm or the Great Sundering, it all started with the destruction of the Well of Eternity. The giant explosion that this caused ripped Azeroth asunder, destroying most of the land mass (previously there was one giant continent, Kalimdor) and reshaping what little remained. In place of the Well of Eternity now lies the Maelstrom, a constant, thunderous reminder of the peaceful times that now are lost to the world. It also is implied that the giant storm is slowly drawing in the surrounding land masses. It could even eventually swallow all that remains of Azeroth.
What more could you ask for in a conflict?
Another noteworthy, though perhaps coincidental factor: WoW.com pointed out that the WoWcataclysm domain expired on June 26, the same day that the trademark requests were filed. Interesting.
There also have been a lot of guesses that the next expansion could be related to the Emerald Dream, the realm of Dragon Aspect Ysera. That speculation was flamed by several blue posts that hinted at the area as a possibilty for future development, but I haven't seen any new, official mentions of that for at least a couple of years.
Let's see if we can glean a little bit more information for what the Trademark would encompass by reading the details of the applications, which were filed June 26. According to the documents posted on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website, the three requests are classified to cover:
- Computer game software and related instruction manuals and guides sold together as a unit; downloadable computer game software; interactive multimedia computer game program; mousepads
- Comic books, computer game strategy guides, trading cards, coloring books, adhesive stickers, rub-on transfers, notebooks, stationery-type portfolios, posters, greeting cards, calendars, instructional leaflets in the field of computer games, computer game instruction manuals, catalogs in the field of computer games, advertisement boards of paper or cardboard, photographs, art prints
- Entertainment services, namely, providing on-line computer games; providing computer games that may be accessed via a global computer network; and providing on-line information in the field of computer gaming entertainment
It certainly sounds like an MMO to me.
So what does everyone else think? Would you be all for some maelstrom-based content for the next expansion? Do you think that's what all this information points to? What else do you think the trademarks could be for?
Reader Comments (68)
I dont like the name, for the sole reason its the name of my raiding guild that broke up some time ago :(
World of Papercraft ftw
xxdeathangel the best way to go out is in a bang it is very possible to include both teh maelstorm and sargeras and queen azshara and emerald dream and deathwing grim batol uldum and the leader of the bronze dragon flight plus what ever ellse blizz has under its sleave all in one big expenchion as each day goes by i looks more and more like blizz will do that it look how fast they are moving with WOTLK arthas will probably be killable winters break and with this new MMO they are working on they wont have time to work on WOW as well but hey atelast its going to make for a hell of a show after all a star is brightest at its end
Thats Awsome! I have often wonder what the point of the giant vortex in the middle of the map was and if Blizzard decides to use that as a point for their next expansion for WoW then im sure we will see some cool new Characters and Monsters that are lurking down there. And I wonder what they will do with the Emerald Dream because iv played like WC3 and i never heard about them having to do with the maelstrom so...
Very Interesting!
“You’ve faced impossible odds and put an end to the Scourge and the Lich King for all time. While the heavy tolls of war set in, as well as mourners for the lost, something much darker and sinister lurks beneath the tides. Queen Azshara, former queen of the Night Elves 10,000 years ago, has made herself known and is out to finish what she had started. The queen plans to use the Maelstrom’s power to recreate the portal which will bring about the destroyer of worlds, Sargeras, into this world. This time, she has no plans to fail.
With Malfurion lost in the Emerald Dream, adventurers are in a race against time to save their world. they must venture into the realm of the Emerald Dream, and free Malfurion from the nightmare. He is the only hope for closing the portal”
That is pure epicness and win.
Emerald dream FTW demon hunters led by altrius in his new home outside BT in SMV! Sargeras is in the maelstrom so tht will be after...
hurray for dorkins lolz
I think the name Cataclysm fits quite well when looking at it from a different perspective. Now that WOW has the COT they can do whatever they want, hence they can actually have the players go back in time to when the cataclysm happened , and maybe help nightelves defeat the Burning Legion. If it were happening all around you, and not looking back on it thousands of years later, than it would be a cataclysm, and not so much a maelstrom. This would also give players the oppurtunity to meet characters like Malfurion, and Illidan Stormrage, Deathwing, Rhonin in action, Cenarius and countless others that we have heard/read about. Finally the magnitude of the battles during this period would be phenominal, with deities, and Luitenants in the Burning Legion and powerful magic weilding high elves....sounds to me to be pretty Cataclysmic...just my opinion though.
pun the problem with this is anything you do in the past will effect the future so far the only reason we went bck intime is to stop the infinite dragon flight and make sure the timeline go onnormal an unchanged thrall ascaping and ecoming leader fo the orcs the black portal opening burning legion defeated at the mount hyjal arthas destroys strath
It is perhaps testament to Blizzard's story-telling ability that, even before the launch of the second content patch of the latest expansion, they have us already questioning what is going to happen in the next chapter. Maybe it's simply all of the subliminal messages that are embedded in all of the quest text (Thrall says, "BUY MORE TRADING CARDS"). Either way this most certainly is not the first time the future expansions of World of Warcraft were the topic of discussion (and probably not the last). However, the fate of Azeroth and her many denizens may have been entirely written before any player even set foot into the World of Warcraft.
Many people claim that the entire life-span of the World of Warcraft franchise was planned out during the original conceptual phase. The story is set to unfold across a total of 5 expansions, with a final a level cap of 100 and climaxing with the defeat of the lord of the Burning Legion, Sargeras. Across the internet, in nearly every thread relating to the future of WoW there is always mention to a fabled list. Essentially, this list is supposed to be the list of every expansion ever to be made for the World of Warcraft. Allegedly, this list has been circling before WoW even launched, as far back as 2003 however, the earliest instance I could locate was this:
http://wow.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=21;mid=119012268058738816;num=24
Posted on September 17th 2007, it is most certainly not evidence that this list existed prior. However, posted over a year before the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, the accuracy of the Northrend set is worth noting. With the amount lore and content presently existing throughout the entirety of the Warcraft universe (computer games, books, table-top/ pen and paper games) an expansion centered around the characters and events involved in the Maelstrom and Emerald Dream would seem very plausible. As the zones included in the list would concur.
This is quite a bit of speculation however, and a fact we all can agree upon is that Blizzard is good at keeping things under wraps. They may very well take us all by surprise and the next expansion could be a Flintstone-Jetsonsesque cross-over where where our Pandaren Marines are pitted against the forces of the Zergling Deathknights lead by none other than the Lord of Terror himself, Diablo and his lieutenants the Lost Vikings. Blizzard does like surprises...
So, is this information actually some small glimpse into the future of the world of Warcraft or simply some elegantly crafted fanboyism, dredged from the annals of Warcrat lore? It is ultimately up to you the be the judge of that. However, It is (at it's very least) food for thought and that's what we're looking for.
this might be the next expansion but im not sure. It definatly will not be the last one since there is still the Emerald dream and stuff like that. Not to mention all the old gods have not been found so there might be more expansions after that. There better be... or else >:O
i think this secrete game that blizz is working on should be like the WC franchise. i mean how great would it be to be able to play as Thall, and the other leaders and kings again.
$15 X 13,000,000. They'll keep making expansions until that number is much smaller.
I would really love to see murlocs, naga or even goblins being a playable race. for some reason i would find it fun to run around as a tiny murloc warrior, no taller than the knee of the human race.
wow...never thought that the story around world of warcraft and warcraft could be so much fun...teach me more :P
why is everyone so convinced it will be the last xpack? I read an interview not too long ago (sorry I can't find it now or I would add a link) hinting that Blizz do indeed plan to raise the level cap to 100 before they close the book on WoW & it was also mentioned that they may not always be 10 levels each time, so, what does this mean?
Well maybe they are planning several smaller xpacks raising the cap by 5 lvls each, or perhaps they are planning one more huge expansion with a jump of 20 lvls. I would hope for the former because as I'm sure most of you do, I prefer to get the leveling out of the way quickly & get to raiding, This would also make good sense from a business point of view because it means Blizz could afford to reduce the size of their development team on WoW & move forward with the new project while still keeping the franchise ticking over & adding new content a little at a time to keep people interested.
It's all speculation at this point, but as others mentioned I can't imagine Blizzard completely dropping WoW in favor of a new MMO while they still have 13+ million paying customers.
My money would be on a smaller xpack (possibly maelstrom based) before the new game is released & then one or two more after that to kind of wean people off WoW & nudge them in the direction Blizz want them to go
There's no way Blizzard would ever kill off WoW just because a new MMO is coming out. This game is one of the most successful cash cows in the history of gaming, and that will take precedent over everything. If it's still making tons of money, they will support it until it doesn't. Everquest 2 is still issuing expansion packs, for example, and it's not even on the same scale as the WoW success. So it is possible you will see WoW run in parallel with the new MMO, until it's apparent it won't be making money anymore.
In addition to their subscriber base, Blizzard makes a ton of money through secondary channels like MMO merchandise like clothing, toys, and their card game, just a few examples.
On top of this, with the WoW movie coming out, this may push their subscriber base to an all-time high. Look at the South Park effect, and that exposure pales in comparison with the amount of new recruits a movie could bring in.
The amount of content dedication Blizzard seems to be bringing to WoW seems higher than anytime I can remember. It's as if they are shoring up the franchise for an even longer future than originally anticipated.
I have read (and I wish I had the link to prove it) and I have heard a past Blizzcast podcast they put out, that they plan to move forward with Deathwing and Sargeras for sure.
To me, that Screams at least 2 more expansions and in my opinion, Deathwing will not be involved with the Maelstrom (unless they show him in a COT flashback) and Sargeras might make an end game appearance, if only like Kil'jaeden in the Sunwell. Sargeras is destined to have his own expansion and will be the final battle (if not one with the Old God(s)).
So we can count on at least these two huge baddies showing up in the near future for WOW.
Azshara is still alive and well as everyone knows. They won't finish WOW unless she is dealt with.
It wouldn't surprise me however, if Deathwing is somehow linked to the Emerald Nightmare or is the cause of it.
I also used to believe that they were done bringing us new playable races but they might bring one more round, with the rest for each expansion being Heroic Classes.
Some thoughts to chew on. I'm totally stoaked personally. I want to get to Icecrown and find out what happens next. And btw, Undermine definitely going to be the neutral city for the Maelstrom exp. I can feel it.
Cataclysm most likely deals with the new MMO that Blizzard is working on. The next WoW expansion is going to be:
World of Warcraft: The Mines of Moria
How do you even know that this is gonna be the last expansion no one knows whats going on the game has 11 million sub's and that's ALOT! Quit thinking that this party is over
The expansion will be huge, but my question is, when will we be at least allowed to fight Arthas, because isn't the expansion called...Wrath of the "Lich King"?
I am 100% sure that Cataclysm is the next expansion. How do I know this? I was invited for the alpha test last week for the next project. You will learn more about it at Blizzcon next month.
@Frostbite4
read this:
http://www.curse.com/blogs/wow-en-news/archive/2009/07/15/scam-warning-wow-cataclysm-alpha-test.aspx
If Cataclysm will be the next expansion then there will be at least 2 more: Emerald Dream and the elemental relam where Ragnaros came from.
Ok, i just thought i would say that if The Lich King was smart when we attacked him with a tank he would kill all the healz instead and not get angry when we growl at him...it doesnt make since that hes not smart enough to figure out that they are being healed. You probably couldn't change the way that raids go...but still all these extremely powerful things must be extremely stupid.