--- description: Programmer Daniel Luchau used Unreal Engine 4 to recreate Elwynn Forest in MMORPG World of Warcraft title: See World of Warcraft Totally Reimagined image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is What _World of Warcraft_ Would Look Like If It Came Out Today by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 12:27 AM CUT by [Matt Vella](/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 12:27 AM CUT [_World of Warcraft_](http://time.com/tag/world-of-warcraft/ "undefined") has been around for 11 years. That’s several life-times over in the world of video games. Activision Blizzard’s once-dominant massively online role-playing game has changed dramatically over the years. The game’s developers have added to its landmass, streamlined the way it is played, overhauled the graphics, and more. Now, one programmer is effectively showing off what the game might look like if it were released today. [Daniel Luchau](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=120&v=Tstt-bxdZ2s "undefined") used his knowledge of the Unreal Engine to recreate Elwynn Forest with contemporary graphics. The 10-year-old map will be familiar to long-time players but also takes on a new cast with updated graphics. The video above provides a short tour of the map. It features recognizable locations such as Goldshire, Westbrook Garrison and more. The most popular and profitable MMO in history has been in [steady decline](http://techland.time.com/2013/05/09/the-inexorable-decline-of-world-of-warcraft/ "undefined") over the past few years. In May, the company revealed the game had shed some three million subscribers over the course of a few months. In January, _World of Warcraft_ had 10 million subscribers. By the end of the first quarter of 2015, it was [down to 7.1 million](http://kotaku.com/why-world-of-warcraft-lost-so-many-subscribers-1702814469 "undefined"). At its 2011 peak, _World of Warcraft_ had around 12.5 million paying subscribers, shelling out around $15 a month. And yet, it’s still the biggest subscription-based game of its kind in the world. An [upcoming film adaptation](http://time.com/3882942/world-of-warcraft-movie/ "undefined") is due to hit theaters next June. ### See The 15 Best Video Game Graphics of 2014  Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Activision's futuristic first-person shooter in which players take on a rogue private military company uses a brand new engine built specifically for PCs and new-gen consoles to handle its cutting-edge lighting, animation and physics. Sledgehammer Games/Activision  Far Cry 4\. This pulled back shot of fictional Himalayan region Kyrat is in-game, believe it or not, rendered with an overhauled version of the engine Ubisoft used to design Far Cry 3. Ubisoft  The Last of Us: Remastered. Naughty Dog's meditation on the worst (and best) of humanity is built on technology that reaches back through the studio's pulp-adventure Uncharted series. The graphics are so impressive, TIME recently assigned a conflict photographer to photograph inside the game. Ashley Gilbertson for TIME  Alien: Isolation Built from scratch, the Alien: Isolation engine's outstanding deep space visuals all but replicate the set design of Alien film concept artists H.R. Giger and Ron Cobb's work. The Creative Assembly  Assassin's Creed Unity. Ubisoft says it "basically remade the whole rendering engine" in its AnvilNext design tool to handle the studio's meticulous recreation of Paris during the French Revolution. Ubisoft  Child of Light Inspired by filmmakers like Hayao Miyazaki and artist Yoshitaka Amano, Child of Light's hand-drawn artwork puts the lie to presumptions that graphical richness depends on shader support or polygon counts. Ubisoft  Destiny Built from scratch by ex-Halo studio Bungie, Destiny's game engine was designed to scale across the next decade, says the studio. Bungie  Mario Kart 8 Nintendo's kart-racer for Wii U reminds us that raw horsepower is just a facet of crafting a beautiful game world. Nintendo  Infamous Second Son Sucker Punch's freeform Seattle-based superhero adventure models all sorts of minutia, from the intricate wrinkling of an aged character's face to the way eyelids stick, slightly, before separating when characters blink. Sucker Punch Productions  Monument Valley Escher-like at first glance, Ustwo's mind-bending puzzler was also inspired by posters, bonsai plants, arabic calligraphy and filmmaker Tarsem Singh's The Fall. Ustwo  Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar's remastered crime spree opus was crafted from an in-house engine first employed in a game that simulated table tennis. Rockstar  Titanfall Respawn Entertainment  Forza Horizon 2 Turn 10's Euro-racer actually models light refracted through drops of moisture, the render tech plausibly simulating something as intangible but essential as the earth’s atmosphere. Microsoft Studios/Turn 10 Studios  80 Days Inkle's anti-colonialist vamp on Jules Verne's famous novel uses crisp art deco imagery inspired by travel posters to unfurl 80 Days' tale of intrepid globetrotters Monsieur Fogg and his valet Passepartout. Inkle  Tomb Raider Crystal Dynamics' radical reboot of its popular series about an athletic archaeologist uses a modified version of the engine that powered Tomb Raider: Legend in 2006. 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