Gamers now have more options when searching for groups

May 14, 2012 08:59 GMT  ·  By

Video game developer Blizzard has announced that it plans to add cross-realm zones to the beta stage of the Mists of Pandaria expansion for its World of Warcraft MMO in order to improve the game experience for both old and new players.

The new zones will allow all players to meet and then group with a bigger number of players in the under-populated areas of the world, like the low level zones at the start of the game and raid instances that are no longer popular with high-level players.

The idea is to create a bigger pool of players to join together in Mists of Pandaria by joining multiple realms for limited periods of time, making sure that those who are just now starting their World of Warcraft experience have the companions needed to progress.

Faction capitals, the Auction Houses and other high population areas will not be joined via the new set of game mechanics.

At the moment Mists of Pandaria is in closed beta stage and only a limited number of gamers are testing the upcoming content, making it the perfect time for Blizzard to test out the new concepts and see whether the player base embraces them.

The Blizzard-made MMO was recently announced to have 10.2 million subscribers, down from an all-time high point of close to 13 million, but it remains the most popular title based around a monthly fee.

But many of those players are already high level and that means that many game areas lack population and that effect will be more pronounced when the new expansion launches and introduces a whole new continent for gamers to explore.

In addition to the new land mass, Mists of Pandaria also introduces a new race, the first neutral one, a new class, more quests and tweaks to existing classes and skills.