As well as unveiling a cinematic trailer for the next World of Warcraft expansion, Midnight, at Gamescom, Blizzard has lifted the lid on some of the new gameplay features that will be included in the venerable MMO’s 11th add-on when it’s released in 2026.
The biggest of these is player housing, which Blizzard had previously announced and detailed, and which is available to try on the show floor. (Polygon will have a hands-on report for you soon.) But the most unexpected and intriguing aspect of Midnight is probably Prey.
Prey will enliven open-world exploration with randomized ambushes from boss-like enemies that have been pre-selected from a bounty list. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the Nemesis system from Monolith Productions’ Lord of the Rings games, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War — or perhaps the Mercenaries from Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey.
As detailed on the WoW website and in a short video, players will pick up Prey targets from Astalor Bloodsworn in the Murder Row district of Silvermoon City. But once you’re hunting your Prey, they’re hunting you, and Prey targets can strike at any time, even in the middle of a quest or while enjoying a quiet spot of fishing. Prey targets have three difficulty tiers — Normal, Hard, and Nightmare — and reward players with cosmetics, mounts, titles, and housing items.
Prey sounds like a good way to introduce some difficulty and unpredictability into questing and running dailies in the open world — and follows The War Within‘s introduction of Delves in a seeming push to expand the challenge and variety of solo play in WoW.
Elsewhere, Midnight will introduce a new playable Allied race, the Haranir, who look like a cross between Trolls and Night Elves and dwell in a bioluminescent mushroom jungle called Harandar. Haranir characters can join either the Horde or the Alliance. There are no new classes this time around, although the Demon Hunter class introduced in the Legion expansion gets a third, Void-themed specialization: Devourer. Void Elves can now be Demon Hunters for the first time.
In terms of location, Midnight will take place across four new zones located in the old world of Azeorth, although “new” is relative: one, Eversong Woods, is a reimagined version of the existing Blood Elf starter zone, and another, the Amani Troll heartland of Zul’Aman, previously featured as a raid dungeon. Harandar and Voidstorm round out the set.
Midnight will also add a new 40-on-40 player-versus-player battleground, Slayer’s Rise, and an updated experience for new and returning players. The latter puts the focus on some famous NPC faces like Jaina Proudmoore and includes a streamlined version of The War Within storyline to get players up to speed.
Pre-orders for World of Warcraft: Midnight are live now and include early access to player housing.
