Is WoW coming to Xbox consoles? Answered

That's the dream.

WoW Night Elf jumping over Xbox controller
Screenshot/Remix by Dot Esports

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.

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Is World of Warcraft coming to Xbox?

An owl with antlers perching on a rock in front of a giant purple crystal in the sky
Just imagine soaring through Khaz Algar while you’re kicking back on the couch. Screenshot by Dot Esports

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.

Author
Image of Tom Foley
Tom Foley
Tom is the UK Associate Editor for Dot Esports. He's the former TCG Editor for CBR and holds a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. Tom spent six years as a Science Editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, and AstraZeneca before leaving science to pursue his dream career in games journalism at the start of 2023. He loves MMOs, RPGs, TCGs, and pretty much every game by FromSoftware—especially Dark Souls.