Below is a collection of Blizzard posts and comments about level 60 servers. If you see something missing here, please reply to this topic (including your source), and I'll add it to the list. I have removed sections that were responses to individuals and not comments about level 60 servers. Some of the links provided are no longer valid as the topic was deleted. Please feel free to comment about these quotes within this thread. These are in chronological order:
Quote:
04/02/2007 by DryscThe idea of having non-expansion realms has definitely been brought up before, but it's not something we want to pursue currently. We don't want to break up our player base by what they have or have not bought by entire realms. We like having players still able to interact even if they can't visit all of the same places, and we have attempted to encourage it by making sure players have to go back to Azeroth every once in a while. Quote:
05/15/2007 from interviewBrannoc: *Ladson* Are there any plans to move forward with classic realms where the level cap is 60 and there is no content beyond Naxx?
Kalgan: Nope, no plans for a classic realm. We plan to keep wow moving forward, even though there are always some that would like to revel in nostalgia. =] Quote:
08/24/2007 by NethaeraNo. I'm sorry, but they are not being thought of at this point in time. We are focused on improving what we have both in Azeroth and in continuing to develop for the new content. Quote:
11/09/2007 by DryscIt's actually something we've brought up again internally fairly recently, and we certainly don't discount that some players would like to play on a "classic realm". Which is one that doesn't advance into or beyond the pre-expansion World of Warcraft experience. We've had meetings where the classic realms could be a solution or point to another discussion, we've talked casually, and have had a few e-mail chains.
In the end there are too many reasons not to, some extremely large ones that would end in major pressure on the progressing game and those playing it (ie everyone not on a classic realm). While they're certainly hurdles that we may one day either find a good solution for or have a good reason to bite that bullet, at this time I'm going to have to give you the same tag line of "it's not something we're looking to pursue at this time".
*Same Post*
Ok then, so you enjoyed the old honor grind.
World of Warcraft is a social game, that is it's intention even though there are the niches that allow very engaging solo-play at times. I don't think it's too much to ask that you find a friend, make a 2v2 arena team, and spend however much time you can playing and having fun. Quote:
12/09/2007 by VanerasThe idea for having classic realms is not a new one⦠People have suggested or requested that Vanilla WoW realms should be opened, where the level cap is 60 and there is no content beyond Naxx.
We recognize the fact that some people prefer the pre-expansion content over the current content and as a result would like to revel in nostalgia, however the developers are planning to keep the game moving forward as they want the game to continue progressing and evolving.
There are no plans for classic realms at this point in time, so you should not expect to see the opening of such realms with the launch of WotLK.
*Same Post*
Or perhaps it would be just as good to re-roll instead and then not go to the Outlands when you reach level 58-60.
A while back there was a group of people who formed a guild for the very purpose of playing the old content only, since they weren't fans of TBC, but I cannot remember which realm they re-rolled on. Quote:
02/21/2008 by DryscWe were at one time internally discussing the possibility fairly seriously, but the long term interest in continued play on them couldn't justify the extremely large amount of development and support resources it would take to implement and maintain them. We'd effectively be developing and supporting two different games. Quote:
12/12/2008 by VanerasIt has been a while since we last posted on the topic of classic WoW realms, so I guess now is a good time to reiterate our position on the matter.
We are aware of the fact that some people prefer the old pre-expansion content over the newer content that has been added to the game with the last two expansions, but despite this we still have no plans for opening any classic realms at this point in time.
We also understand that some people would like to revel in nostalgia; however the developers are planning to keep the game moving forward as they want the game to continue to progress and evolve. We hope that these will spur conversation about level 60 server implementation.