Summary
One talented Blizzard fan recently went through the effort of envisioning how a portion of theWorld of Warcraftmap would look in Unreal Engine 5. His feat is just the latest in a long list ofWorld of Warcraftrecreations and asset updatesthat have surfaced online in recent times.
While manyWorld of Warcraftexpansions that released over the years shipped with graphical updates to the game, such improvements were most often reserved for whatever new areas Blizzard added to the MMO. Meanwhile, the game’s last complete graphical overhaul happened in 2010, with some fans consequently arguing that aworld revamp forWorld of Warcraftis already long overdue.
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YouTuber Frits Mulder recently envisioned one such updated version ofWorld of Warcraftpowered by Unreal Engine 5, the latest major release of Epic Games' popular engine which was first unveiled in mid-2020 before launching two years later. to make the undertaking more feasible for a one-man project, Mulder decided to limit his recreation to Westfall, the Kingdom of Stormwind’s fiefdom that was part ofWorld of Warcraftsince the MMO’s late 2004 debut. The author of this fan recreation revealed that he had zero experience with 3D rendering software beforehand, labeling his desire to learn as one of the reasons for why he embarked on what ended up being a three-month development journey.
Apart from Westfall, Mulder also recreated manyWorld of Warcraftmobs as part of the project. The Unreal Engine 5 newcomer eventually showcased the result of his efforts in a well-received YouTube video with a runtime of over seven minutes. Apart from gorgeously lit scenery, the recreation also stands out from the currentWorld of Warcraftgraphics due to its lack of pop-in and extremely realistic water effects, among other improvements.
This impressive fan project serves as yet another teaser for the level of visuals that gamers can expect from the titles powered by Epic’s latest and greatest engine. Although it only launched in April 2022,Unreal Engine 5 has already been adopted by dozens of upcoming gamesspanning a wide variety of genres.
And though Mulder’s recreation also underlines how Blizzard’s hit game is nowadays showing its age in some areas, there are still plenty ofthings thatWorld of Warcraftdoes better than most other MMOs. This state of affairs likely contributed to its ongoing success, with third-party server tracker MMO Population estimating thatWorld of Warcraftstill boasts over 1.2 million daily active players as of July 2023.
World of Warcraftis available on PC.
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