Mentioned in this article Games: Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch

World of Warcraft (WoW) is in a unique place in esports. While most popular titles in the space have a singular, defining mode that their esports scenes revolve around, WoW has two.

At BlizzCon this year, both styles of WoW esports were on display. First, there was the player-vs-player Arena mode, in which two teams fight directly against one another for supremacy on a small battlefield. Second, there are Mythic Dungeon races, in which teams work to complete challenges faster than their opponents. You can learn more about both of these competitions in The Esports Observer’s Esports Essentials series.

When it comes to growing and promoting World of Warcraft as an esport, developer Blizzard Entertainment has a unique challenge. How can it take a game not traditionally focused around its competitive side and support not one, but two esports products? During BlizzCon 2018, The Esports Observer spoke with Jeramy McIntyre, global manager for WoW esports about the origins, growth, and future of the game.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”I think it really kind of goes back to the game itself.”[/perfectpullquote]

“I think it really kind of goes back to the game itself,” he said. “When you look at other game modes, even in our games like Heroes of the Storm or Overwatch or StarCraft , the esport generally reflects the core game mode of the game. In Overwatch, when you sit down at home and you’re playing with your five friends, it’s very translatable to the esports experience, which is 6v6 on the same maps doing the same objectives. World of Warcraft is extremely unique.”

The diversity of playing styles is what spawned the concept of the two different esports, McIntyre said. The creation of the two officially supported esports properties developed as a reflection of how people played the game, not as something designed to create a specific esports mode.

“World of Warcraft is in a very unique place in the industry by having such a rich history and by having all that diversity baked into it. I think that World of Warcraft can provide a portfolio of esports options, as opposed to a singular esport. When you look at it under a portfolio model, that’s actually much more reflective of how a game’s actually made, designed, and engaged with by our fan base.”

While the esports side of WoW has been growing in terms of Twitch viewership, it has yet to reach the top tier of esports, despite the fact that it, as McIntyre put it, “actually out-dates esports as an industry, as opposed to esports as a hobby.” Arena matches have been taking place at BlizzCon since 2007. But, he said, WoW esports isn’t as much about growing a massive spectator audience as it is about engaging the game’s already present fan base.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”For me, it’s less about peak concurrents or hitting these huge numbers and is more about just feeding that audience.”[/perfectpullquote]

“There’s a very strong user base for World of Warcraft that has a very rich history,” he said. “And so, I think for me, the primary objective is really that engagement and going back to those players and providing things for them to consume. And when you look at it under that lens, the viewership is only ancillary to that objective. For me, it’s less about peak concurrents or hitting these huge numbers and is more about just feeding that audience. Providing more content over time, as long as it is getting consumed, and it as long as we are seeing growth in those audiences, I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

But with two esports scenes happening simultaneously, how does Blizzard ensure that they don’t cannibalize each others’ viewership? Most developers avoid splitting their audiences, so how do McIntyre and Blizzard avoid that pitfall? McIntyre said there was a “concern of cannibalization” before splitting the game into two esports, but that there has been an “audience share, rather than any sort of cannibalization.

“I super believe in Blizzard quality, and I try to be an ardent defender of that. I also consider myself a big conservative in this industry. And because I’m an ardent defender of what Blizzard quality is, and making sure that I can deliver on that quality bar, I take a very conservative and tempered approach to how I’ve been growing these programs. And that’s to ensure I don’t keep promises I can’t keep to my player base and my competitors. I have to be reasonable about what I can provide them. Because of all the other things that I need to learn about how to actually make this program and grow this program at a strong, scalable rate.”

According to McIntyre, that tempered approach has worked so far. But it has also led him to avoid taking big swings. When asked about the recent explosive viewership on Twitch of esports organization Method’s recent raid race, he expressed a hesitancy to get into officially supporting raid races.

“[Raid races are] certainly something that we’ve pondered,” he said. “It’s certainly something that we’ve looked into. It’s certainly something that we consumed as a product. I watched many hours, everywhere from Sco’s solo stream to seeing what they did with Red Bull to seeing all these different elements that they had. I thought that was a super unique and awesome approach. But I don’t think that’s something I can do naturally.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”[Raid races are] certainly something that we’ve pondered.”[/perfectpullquote]

McIntyre believes that the success of WoW as a spectator title relies on Blizzard’s ability to create authentic viewer experiences that respect the game they grew out of. So, when considering what to do with raid races, he once again believes in taking a measured approach so as to honor the community that they grew out of.

“The thing for me, is that I have a fear that I will mess it up,” he said. “The World First race has been something that is innate to what WoW is. It is the heart of the game itself. It’s less about the esport about the game, and it’s more about what WoW is. And what it means to be doing progression raiding… There’s this level of artificiality that I’m afraid I will insert as an esport.”

But does that mean players and viewers won’t see Blizzard stepping into the world of raid races any time soon? Not necessarily. “Now, are there other things we can do outside of esports that Blizzard is looking at?” said McIntyre. “I think that we all saw what Method was doing, and that we’re all spinning our wheels about what we can do with it. From my personal opinion, I have a fear of messing up what I consider the heart of the game, rather than just the esport.”

The World of Warcraft is ever-evolving, and so must its esports scene. It’s been around for longer than most of the most prevalent esports in the world today, and McIntyre wants to make sure it’ll continue to survive—and thrive—for even longer.

“It kind of goes back to my general philosophy, that’s tempered, a little bit more conservative than some of my peers, but that’s because I want to ensure that I will be here next year,” he said. “Because WoW will be here for the next decade, I just want to be sure I’m going to be alongside with it. That’s very important to me.

“When I look at where WoW esports is, I have a very long view of where it goes. And all of those details of that, can’t really get into now, but I can tell you this: I’m not done yet.”