text: It is the year 2067. Many decades have passed since the gates of Azeroth opened for the days of Vanilla WoW. Little did the players of that time back in 2003 know that over 50 years later, the game they loved so much would still be going strong. Dozens of expansion packs later, the current level cap is now 340. Several new races - and classes - are in place. A new class of item, called 'Primordials' have been introduced. The geography of today's Azeroth would be mostly known to early 2000's players, with several sub-equatorial land masses now a part of the landscape (Gondwana, Pangaea and the Poles). As the early-day players grew older and became adults and eventually grandparents, WoW accounts and characters were passed down through generations of real-life families. It became commonplace for WoW 'heirlooms' to be passed down through online generations in the game that had been in existence for the past 50 years. These online items hold almost as much sentimental value as real-life heirlooms do for some. As it's players matured, so did the game. At one point, Blizzard introduced graveyards into the game - where players could pay tribute to family members & friends who had previously passed away. This is held with a high degree of sacredness & respect by the online WoW community - long gone are the days of guild raids on fallen players funerals. There is now an annual 'Rememberance Day' event in WoW where players gather at memorials to remember loved ones that have passed away. This is a free day in the WoW subscription so many inactive players come back just for this event. One of the most surprising things however, is that each realm now has an in-game president. Yes, that's right. Elections are held each year where players cast an in-game vote at Goldshire Inn to select the candidate of their choosing. Candidates must first be nominated by their guild to cast their name in the ballot. Each guild can only put forward 1 person. The president serves a maximum 2-year term after re-election. The role of this president, much like a real-life president, is to represent the interests of the players through being a direct point of contact to Blizzard. Each realm president gets 4 face-to-face meetings a year with Blizzard devs to discuss issues such as in-game experience, class balance, PVP enjoyment and server specific issues. It is expected that the presidents quit their real-life job to fully dedicate themselves to their in-game role; Blizzard makes up for this by reimbursing the presidents with a nominal salary in Bitcoin and providing an in-game Whitehouse with presidential attire. Stay tuned as I continue to report on the exciting new world of future-WoW.