Blizzard debuted the cinematic trailer for World of Warcraft: The War Within over the weekend, and it’s quite the trip.
We already know a little bit about this upcoming story expansion. This is the first of three World of Warcraft expansions telling a new overarching story called the WorldSoul Saga. While there’s a lot of new features to appreciate in The War Within, it will also have a renewed focus on the story.
And the credit for that goes to Chris Metzen, a Blizzard veteran who was with the company as far back as on WarCraft: Orcs and Humans, and already retired after an accomplished career in 2016. In 2022, he surprisingly came back as creative consultant for Warcraft:, and then was made the creative head of the franchise the following year.
The trailer gives us just a brief peek at Xal’atath. Although most fans will recognize her as a Dark Elf, that is actually the body of Inanis, a female elf sacrificed so that it could take her body. Xal’atath was itself bound to a dagger of the same name, and is itself of mysterious origins.
Xal’atath serves an entity called The Void, and has recruited a clan of the spider people Nerubians. These Nerubians come from Azj-Kahet, and are far more dangerous than those who have been seen in the game before.
While we know that many familiar faces will be returning for this expansion, including Thrall, Alleria Windrunner, and Anduin, those characters do not show up for this trailer. In fact, there aren’t a lot of familiar faces at all.
We do get a good early look at the Earthen, an early race of dwarves visibly made of stone and gems. These characters will be a huge part of this expansion’s story, and will also be an unlockable race.
But we are also introduced to several unidentified characters, who we believe aren’t just OCs standing in for the player’s OCs. There is a black paladin woman, visibly missing most of her left arm. There is another orc woman, who we see dancing in a frenzy, and perhaps evoking a certain Na’vi woman a little too much.
And we get a good look at an airship entering what appears to be Azj-Kahet, and even get a brief look at a Nerubian up close. We aren’t going to be waiting that long to see the initial sparks of Metzen’s new vision for the World of Warcraft universe, and perhaps if the game can live up to that vision.
World of Warcraft: The War Within is releasing in 2024. You can watch the cinematic trailer below.
