WoW’s Housing Roadmap: Guild Halls, Co-Decorating and Bigger Homes

This caught my attention because player housing has been one of the most-requested, and most debated, features in World of Warcraft for years. Blizzard’s recent comments to PC Gamer finally turn hope into a concrete roadmap – and the mix of quick wins and long-term ambitions tells us a lot about how the team is balancing scope, social play, and technical risk.

WoW’s Future Housing Plans Include Guild Halls and Co-Decorating

Key takeaways

• Guild Halls are confirmed and expected to arrive “relatively quickly,” but they won’t be in the Midnight pre-patch on Jan 20.
• Blizzard plans co-decorating, co-ownership, larger exteriors, exterior rooms, more decor and interactive objects – plus housing renown progression.
• Longer-term ambitions include pets/mounts roaming homes and import/export tools; other ideas (basements, neighborhoods) are being considered but not started.
• Early-access housing arrives with the Midnight pre-patch (Jan 20) for preorders; the full Midnight expansion launches Mar 2.

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Publisher|Blizzard Entertainment
Release Date|Pre-patch: Jan 20 (early access); Midnight launch: Mar 2
Category|MMORPG expansion & housing update
Platform|PC (World of Warcraft)
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Blizzard’s senior leads – including Holly Longdale and Ion Hazzikostas — and housing lead Jesse Kurlancheek spoke to PC Gamer about a phased approach to housing. That approach mixes near-term additions players will notice quickly with more ambitious systems that need extra engineering and design time.

What’s coming soon (and what’s not)

The headline here is Guild Halls: shared, customizable spaces for your guild to gather. Kurlancheek says they’ll be coming “relatively quickly,” which is meaningful — Guild Halls answer a core social need in WoW that solo player homes can’t. However, Blizzard made it clear they won’t be part of the Midnight pre-patch on Jan 20, so expect them in a subsequent update.

Other near-term changes include co-decorating (a practical, community-friendly feature), co-ownership for couples or groups, exterior rooms that let you keep sunlight and outside views, larger “medium” exteriors, more décor options, visible plot boundaries and interactive housing objects. Housing renown will give progression and goals tied to housing — which can be great for engagement but could also introduce grind if not tuned carefully.

Longer-term ideas and the engineering reality

Blizzard is also floating bigger, more technically complex ideas: letting your pets and mounts roam your house, import/export tools for sharing creations, basements, communal public spaces and entirely new neighborhoods beyond the Stormwind/Orgrimmar themes. These are explicitly longer-term and some are still only ‘considered’ rather than actively developed. That cautious posture is sensible — roaming NPCs and import tools have server, client performance and exploit-surface implications that require care.

Why this matters (and what could go wrong)

Housing changes are more than cosmetics: they reshape social dynamics, retention and the economy. Guild Halls give guilds a persistent identity hub, which can revive guild recruitment and group play. Co-decorating lowers the barrier for players who want pretty homes but lack the patience or sense of style — a small UX win with high social payoff.

But there are pitfalls. Housing renown and gated décor could create new grinds or micro-transaction pressure if monetization enters the mix. Shared spaces and roaming pets raise moderation and performance questions: how will Blizzard prevent griefing, overcrowding, or server strain? The team’s phased approach suggests they know these are real risks and are pacing work accordingly.

What this means for players

If you preordered Midnight, you’ll see early-access housing tools with the Jan 20 pre-patch and a fuller housing featureset as the expansion rolls out. For social players and guild leaders, Guild Halls are the most consequential announcement — they make housing a shared playground, not just solo vanity. For decorators, co-decorating and expanded décor give new creative outlets.

For skeptics, watch how Blizzard implements progression (renown) and any monetization tied to housing. The success of these features will hinge on balance: giving players freedom without turning houses into a new layer of grind or inequality.

TL;DR

Blizzard has a clear, phased plan: expect Guild Halls and practical quality-of-life housing upgrades soon while more ambitious systems like roaming pets, import/export tools and new neighborhoods land later. Jan 20 brings early-access housing with the Midnight pre-patch for preorders; the Midnight expansion launches Mar 2. This roadmap feels promising — it finally treats housing as a social feature — but implementation details (progression, moderation, performance) will determine whether it improves WoW or introduces new headaches.