Agenda
Designing Player Housing for 'World of Warcraft'
Toby Ragaini (Design Lead, Blizzard)
Jay Hwang (Principal Artist, Blizzard)
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Hot Topics:
N/A
Track:
Design, Production & Team Leadership
Audience Level:
Intermediate
Format:
Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: Intermediate
For more than a decade, player housing was one of the most requested features in World of Warcraft and one of the most ambitious challenges in the game's 20-year history. In 2025, it finally arrived to widespread acclaim. Join Design Lead Toby Ragaini and Principal Artist Jay Hwang as they share the story of bringing player housing to a live service MMO enjoyed by millions, balancing the expectations of a passionate community with the realities of evolving a beloved two-decade-old game. They will explore the design challenges of serving diverse player motivations, the systems and tools required to deliver unprecedented creative freedom at scale, and the technical and artistic foundations needed to integrate large-scale customization into one of gaming's most enduring worlds. Through practical examples and lessons learned, they will discuss how design, art, engineering, and supporting teams came together to build a feature that empowers player creativity while remaining scalable, performant, and sustainable for the future of World of Warcraft.
Takeaway
Live game services can and should evolve to meet the needs of their audience. By identifying key challenges and committing to player needs, teams can expand the range of experiences players expect while consistently exceeding customer expectations.
Intended Audience
Game designers, artists, engineers, producers, UX practitioners, and live-service developers interested in large-scale player customization systems, cross-disciplinary feature development, and the challenges of evolving long-running online games. This session will be especially valuable for teams building creative tools, player-expression features, or persistent systems that must balance player freedom, technical constraints, and long-term sustainability.