I've played World of Warcraft since the distant days of the closed beta (2004. Yes, you may not have been alive for it. Thanks for the reminder) and every time I return, it feels like I'm coming home. Things often change, but there's always a reassuring sense of familiarity. As a predominantly Alliance player, that's also known as chilling in Stormwind but finally, I have an actual home to call my own.
That's thanks to World of Warcraft: Midnight, the latest expansion pack which is set for launch in 2026. It's currently in beta testing for anyone who bought the Epic Edition and one of its most notable additions is player housing. It's early days, but it's the highlight of the whole experience for me right now. It feels like a particularly warm welcome for old school players keen to have somewhere they can always return.
Part of the furniture
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I've played through every WoW expansion pack. Some more than others, granted, but Midnight feels like a more substantial change than most. Like other players, I'm used to the key additions being more zones, an increased level cap, and maybe a new race to play. It's all bigger and better but it's been a while since we saw truly positive and forward thinking steps made. Player housing might not shake up Azeroth exactly, but it is a hotly anticipated feature.
After all, Final Fantasy 14 has had player housing since 2013. It's been long overdue for WoW but if it took this long to make it better than Final Fantasy 14's method, I'm not complaining. The big selling point is that there's no pesky lottery dictating whether you can buy a house. Want a house? Got the money? You're all set in World of Warcraft. There's no risk of running out of housing, with theoretically endless public neighborhoods meaning there's always a plot for you to purchase. That's a far cry from Final Fantasy 14's lottery system with its dedicated entry days and results days, meaning a certain amount of luck is needed to get a home. Unfair? Yup, that's about right. It's a frustrating experience and one I haven't put much time into. World of Warcraft simplifies it extensively.
Besides being easy to find a plot and go 'hey, that's my home', it's also simple to move house and even change your mind and move back. Everything is boxed up just like moving in real life so it's simple to reset progress. If you log off for a while (maybe to move house in the real world), your home won't be demolished due to inactivity either.
It's all idyllic. Midnight guides you through everything via simple quests so you quickly figure out the basics. It's a nice introduction to the neighborhood with your arrival feeling a little bit special. You turn up to this bustling land of NPCs (mostly all called Local right now due to the beta status) and you're soon guided through where to buy furniture and decor, and how to place your plot. Your home is simple yet cozy. I can see decorating your home becoming a fast favorite amongst cozy gamers, with easy to place objects thanks to a snap-to-grid interface.
I'm no interior design expert but I enjoyed slotting in some basic furniture to get started. Then I stumbled across a series of quests that led to more furniture. These quests added to the cozy experience. Rather than having you slice and dice x amount of enemies, you're solving riddles. I have no doubt at launch, there will be easy solutions online but right now, there's a real sense of satisfaction when you solve something for yourself, especially if you're awful at riddles like I am.
There's plenty of furniture you can buy with in-game gold (the bill can get pretty high) but it's fun to gain these more special items through using your brain. It's sure to keep me hooked for a while. Decor or furniture feels like it could be a very large timesink and a lot of fun for the WoW collectors amongst us. Blizzard promises simple decor from many vendors, the auction house, trophies, and even reputation gains. It's here to stay, with some decor provided retroactively based on accomplishments you've already achieved.
This could all be a lonely experience but player housing is placed within neighborhoods with those areas all offering activities. Known as endeavors, these monthly tasks grant experience along with community coupons which can be exchanged for other rewards. At first, it's a little 'where do I even begin?' – but over time, I can see it being as commonplace to dive into as completing your dailies, albeit with less time commitment involved. From what I saw, neighborhoods are bustling hives of activity. Crucially, they're a place to be more sociable in a game that's become a tad more anti-social in recent times.
Besides the public neighborhoods, guilds can also arrange a private space for all their guildies to live together. I can imagine this being a ton of fun over time. I'm left thinking of times when I'd check in on my Free Company's house in FF14 and it'd be fun running into a guildmate. Such small interactions remind you of how this is so much more than just a game if you're willing to communicate and talk.
I'm hopeful that player housing could be a huge deal for World of Warcraft. It's been a long time coming and so far, it looks well-implemented and like it's learned from its competitors well. That's an excellent start. Right now, the beta is clearly a work in progress right down to some NPCs having placeholder names, items being incorrectly named, and some cutscenes not being fully complete. But I'm liking these foundations. All homes need solid foundations and these are looking pretty strong and reliable. 2026 could be a very exciting year for World of Warcraft players looking for more comfort.
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