A few years ago that was the case, it made the idea of cross-faction game unthinkable. Developers even suggested it with WoTLK Classic Gold. Humans and orcs fighting each other? No, not even in its narrative to support the concept and the possibility that the game could benefit from having a bigger, connected player base to enjoying endgame content. It was even popular with many players but it wasn’t a factor. Certain ideas weren’t able to be altered, and this was one of the ideas.
WoW is no longer defined by orcs versus humans
Then, in 2022 it’s going to happen. Cross-faction support will be coming soon, allowing Horde and Alliance players to come together for dungeons, raids, and rated PvP. This is a significant change in the perception of things WoW is and what it can become. The initial response is clear. Players largely seem ecstatic about cross-faction play, which shows they’re ready for changing. The iron curtain being rethought among the Horde and Alliance is only one idea the team took a long look at the other aspects of the game which have been made or are in the process of making that are reexamining other ideas that were once thought to be untouchable.
The seeds for this type of change were planted months ago, before the release to the public of 9.1.5 update (a patch that notably reworked or removed certain elements from the game’s most recent Shadowlands expansion that were widely disliked by players). This was the exact time the game’s director Ian Hazzikostas said the team was at times stuck too tightly to the old practices instilled by some of cheap WOW WoTLK Classic Gold’s original creators.