World of Warcraft: Chronicle
World of Warcraft: Chronicle (or simply the Warcraft Chronicle) is a series that attempts to codify, tighten up and clarify the history of Warcraft.[1] There are four volumes.
Chronicle is the "Warcraft Book of Cain" that was first mentioned by Chris Metzen at the Mists of Pandaria launch party in 2012,[2] which refers to the book released alongside Diablo III that covered the Diablo universe's lore. According to Micky Neilson, the book is like a bible with illustrations.[3] Chronicle is checked by internal readers and Blizzard's historians.[4] Information that is left out from the Chronicle books and originate from other canon sources is still considered canon.[5] At BlizzCon 2019, Steve Danuser stated that Chronicle is written from the point of view of the titans and their servants, as well as "a lot of other perspectives", and there are elements of the cosmology that weren't known about and which are therefore only hinted at in Chronicle.[6]
Matt Burns hinted on several occasions that there may be more volumes in the future,[7] but for now, the third volume, despite ending with "To be continued..." like the first two, is the final one. In late 2018, it was re-confirmed that despite the series having had a really good reception, there are no plans for an eventual continuation.[8] In 2021, World of Warcraft: Grimoire of the Shadowlands and Beyond was released, sharing a similar format and purpose, chronicling the history of the Shadowlands and the cosmology of the universe from the perspective of the denizens of the realms of Death. World of Warcraft: The Dragonflight Codex, slated for release in 2023, provides a comparable illustrated history of dragonkind and the Dragon Isles.[9]
Volumes[]
- World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 (2016)
- World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 2 (2017)
- World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3 (2018)
- World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 4 (2024)
Possible future subjects[]
These subjects were stated to be possibly covered in future volumes.
- Devourer of Souls and Northrend.[10]
- The Lich King's armor.[11]
- Warsong Gulch.[12]
- Azsune.[13]
- Maybe the Syndicate and Ravenholdt.[14]
- The Stonemasons guild.[15]
- Possibly demonic corruption on orcs.[16]
- Possibly the story from the Warcraft I manual.[17]
- Possibly the workings of portal magic.[18]
- Possibly firearm lore.[19]
- Possibly the culture of dwarves.[20]
- Possibly information about God-King Skovald.[21]
- Possibly an appendix with origin of various demon types.[22]
- Possibly information about Cho'gall and Imperator Mar'gok.[23]
- Possibly information on Kalimdor during the First and Second Wars.[24]
- Possibly the Darkmoon Faire.[25]
- Possibly the reason the night elves resemble some Wild Gods.[26]
- Possibly the relation between the night elves and the wisps.[27]
- Possibly information about any potential conflict or contact between the kingdom of Stormwind and the jungle trolls prior to the First War.[28]
- Possibly the identities of the Defender of the Crown and the Abbot of Northshire Abbey.[29]
- Possibly what happened to several missing characters from the Second War era, including Isiden Perenolde, Hath, and Fenris Wolfbrother.[30]
- Possibly Calia Menethil.[31][32]
- Possibly the Kor'kron, who are not mentioned in Chronicle Volume 2 but are being "saved for later".[33]
Notes[]
- The lore section of the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne game manual is also called "Chronicle."
- According to Matt Burns, Chronicle Volume 2 has a very high-up view of the first great wars compared to the original games so their unmentioned battles and events still could have happened.[34][35] Furthermore, some events in Chronicle Volume 3 were left out due to already being told in other books and game manuals.[36]
Gallery[]
Unused art.
References[]
- ^ World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 Trailer
- ^ Micky Neilson on Twitter
- ^ Micky Neilson on Twitter
- ^ Micky Neilson on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^
Blizzard Entertainment 2019-11-02. BlizzCon 2019 - World of Warcraft: Q&A (34:15). Retrieved on 2019-11-03. (MMO-Champion transcript/Wowhead transcript).
- ^ Matt Burns
- ^ Wowhead
- ^ Wowhead
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter (2017-09-20). “It's possible we will explore that in a later volume of Chronicle. Have to wait and see though. Not sure.” (when asked about Medivh's hourglass)
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter (2015-06-30)
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter (2015-07-14)
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Micky Neilson on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter (2017-03-08). “I think some of that still could have happened. We are just presenting things from very high up.”
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter (2016-09-12). “I don't think we mention ["The Dominion of Lordaeron" or "The Annals of the Great Alliance"] in [Chronicle volume 2]. [...] In general we're leaning more toward the War II novelization. But that doesn't necessarily mean things mentioned by Milan aren't canon anymore.”
- ^ Matt Burns on Twitter
