World of Warcraft: A 20-Year Journey

Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft, launched back in November 2004, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The game has had a profound impact on the gaming world and beyond. Before social networks like Facebook and Twitter, WoW showed us a sneak peek of a future where people connect with friends and strangers online. It wasn't just about gaming; it was about building communities. The business model WoW adopted, combining monthly subscriptions with in-game purchases, was a game-changer. Players could buy virtual pets or mounts, and this model brought in billions for Blizzard. It set the stage for how online businesses would operate in the future. WoW also left its mark on pop culture. It created memes that are still popular today and attracted celebrity fans. Even epidemiologists found it useful, using an in-game disease outbreak to study real-world epidemics. As for the movie, it wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be.