Saturday, 24 August, 2024 UTC
Summary
Escape From Dalaran is an official World of Warcraft VR 4D experience where you fly through battle.
Designed to promote the upcoming World of Warcraft: The War Within expansion and MMORPG's 20th anniversary, Escape From Dalaran was developed by several internal teams at Blizzard. Running on PC using a Quest 3 headset, this three-minute experience is currently being publicly showcased in the Xbox booth at Gamescom 2024.
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Reminiscent of theme park attractions, Escape From Dalaran isn't a full-fledged World of Warcraft VR experience - even the VR mod only covers up to Wrath of the Lich King's final patch. You sit on a moving six-axis platform chair, utilizing a built-in fan and haptic feedback that simulates flying through the skies of Azeroth as a battle unfolds, eventually making your way to Azj-Kahet.
Since you're just sitting along for the ride, there's no interaction with this world beyond where you look. But as someone who loves theme park attractions, this was still an entertaining few minutes. I enjoyed the rush as I went flying through the battlefield and the strong production values are clearly evident. In a recent interview, Blizzard confirmed it's running at 4K in 120fps.
It's an unexpectedly enjoyable way to promote the upcoming expansion, and I'm pleasantly surprised this even exists. Blizzard's never officially released a VR title before, though it once prototyped a VR version of Hearthstone and reportedly worked on a Warcraft AR game. Granted, a shorter experience offers more creative freedom, and I'd love to see what they could do with an actual game.
Sadly, Escape From Dalaran doesn't seem like it will receive a wider launch. An Xbox representative told UploadVR that there's "nothing confirmed" right now for a home release, and we'll keep you updated if that ever changes.