It’s December, so let the summing up of 2025 start! I used to be fascinated with recreation improvement roadmaps whereas on trip and determined to show my combined ideas right into a submit. Why not?
The Yr is 2025
To start out with, I’ve an advanced relationship with roadmaps.
I like to see them. however I’ve additionally been on the creating facet of them sufficient instances that I at all times solid a skeptical eye on them as nicely. A pair a long time in enterprise software program making them for buyers, huge prospects, and analyst like Gartner and having advertising inform me that they’re already telling all these teams we already help all of the options on my to-do record for the following 18 months will try this to you.
That stated, I do see the attraction, particularly for stay service video games that stay on change and updates, resembling MMORPGs. And corporations have been extra keen in recent times to offer such roadmaps to be able to preserve their prospects engaged and searching forwards to enjoyable new issues.
The query is admittedly the best way to rank them. I had thought of standards and doing the entire S by F tier factor or perhaps growing a degree or grading system. Ultimately although, that may contain me having to tug collectively a logical judgement system for one thing that has a severe emotional component. So I made a decision on a easy stack rating with some professionals and cons.
Along with being emotional, it’s also fairly subjective. I’m largely rating how nicely an organization communicates their plans in a easy, sharable format. Your alternate rankings are welcome.
So, from finest to… we’ll say “least finest” perhaps… I don’t need to harm any emotions. Then once more, a few of these firms want to enhance their advertising recreation.
1st Place – Tie between RuneScape and Outdated College RuneScape
Oh man, these are virtually my platonic supreme of promoting love or one thing. Let’s have a look at these two, with RuneScape up first.
RuneScape 2025-2026 Roadmap
Take a look at the simplicity of that graphic. Simply seven containers, however every communicates a particular upcoming function or replace. There aren’t any onerous dates, however a fairly strong timeline as to when to anticipate issues. And the identical goes for OSRS.
Outdated College RuneScape 2025 – 2026 Roadmap
Once more, simply seven key updates, an affordable estimate of once they would possibly present up, after which some extra objects of curiosity down under. This makes me need to play both of those two video games.
- Professionals: Easy, colourful, highlights key options, doesn’t get misplaced in particulars, doesn’t get into the mundane
- Cons: Perfection. No notes.
Now, since I don’t play both, I ponder in the event that they hit their marks. However again in March once they launched these I did a submit about them just because they had been such good examples of the artwork. Different firms have to study from this… particularly since Jagex isn’t an enormous firm. But by some means they discovered the assets to do a high quality job.
Associated:
2nd Place – World of Warcraft
There’s nothing actually improper with the WoW 2025 roadmap. They’re comparable in high quality to RuneScape and OSRS. Blizz has an excellent advertising staff in relation to graphics, so my expectations for them are larger. Placing in an excellent job doesn’t earn them as a lot slack from me.
So what did Blizz give us for retail WoW?
Revised 2025 WoW Roadmap
Once more, simply seven panels of options. I’m not eager on the model numbering as a header for them. These don’t say something to outsiders. The dates are a bit imprecise, however no extra so than RuneScape. There are two icons on the roadmap that don’t say something, which I’m not completely happy about. I don’t keep in mind what the primary one was, the black marker with the flag, however the second is the pre-Midnight launch of housing.
- Professionals: Easy, highlights key milestones, doesn’t get slowed down in particulars
- Cons: Not so colourful, a lot of what’s on the roadmap solely appeals to followers and never outsiders, and a serious function, housing, is simply an icon
Associated:
third Place – WoW Traditional
This will get ranked a bit under retail for a few causes, however let’s have a look at the graphic.
Blizzard WoW Traditional 2025 Roadmap
Total it’s fairly clear. It carries the burden of Blizz working a number of threads on the basic entrance, which signifies that particulars get condenses and solely two main milestones seize the attention.
It additionally performs a bit quick and unfastened with dates. Take a look at the Mists of Pandaria Traditional entry on the highest row. When does that truly launch? The place the graphic begins or the place the phrase “launch” ends? I may argue both manner and that may be a good six month window. Ultimately it was July, nicely earlier than the beginning of the phrase “launch” on that timeline.
This is applicable to Anniversary Traditional and the TBC launch. I imply, perhaps Blizz actually didn’t know the precise dates again once they rolled up these roadmaps… and no person ought to belief a precise date greater than six months out… however holy date ranges Batman, had been they that unsure?
Lastly, there may be Season of Discovery… which simply ends. I imply, that’s what occurred, however sort of left hanging on the roadmap there.
- Professionals: Easy, highlights key milestones, doesn’t get slowed down in particulars
- Cons: Solely two actual milestones, emphasizes that every little thing is by the numbers, some actually ambiguously massive date ranges, on reflection broadcasts a certain quantity of disdain for traditional
Associated:
4th Place- EVE On-line
The issue with EVE On-line and roadmaps is that CCP has been stealing so many assets from their one cash making title that they don’t have rather a lot to speak about. As such, you find yourself with a roadmap I may have written with no insider information in anyway.
The EVE On-line 2025 Roadmap
As I famous on the time, any individual marked up the 2026 model, which I’ve little doubt will develop into appropriate.
EVE On-line 2026 Roadmap Prediction
It additionally doesn’t let you know a lot in the best way of particulars. I imply, that isn’t such a nasty factor in a roadmap, the place readability trumps. However no outsider goes to glean sufficient from these containers to get enthusiastic about any of it. I assume at the least they didn’t fill half of it up with objects from their but to be launched first particular person shooter. So a degree for with the ability to give attention to their important recreation for a minute.
- Professionals: Easy, colourful, clear timeline development
- Cons: Lacks any compelling particulars, says nothing to outsiders and insiders knew all this already
Associated:
fifth Place – Enshrouded
Probably not an MMORPG, however an adjoining title. And, they’ve a roadmap! Present me the roadmap!
The 2025 Roadmap
So… there may be quite a lot of good info there. However it’s fairly jumbled up, has no timeline related to it, and truthfully has an excessive amount of on the web page. Had I been directing this roadmap I may need chosen a extra panorama oriented view with a calendar and seasons and thrown a number of the greater classes onto that.
A key redeeming function is an launch date for the 1.0 model of the sport in Spring 2026. So at the least the chart, for all of its chaos, is sure by a time examine.
- Professionals: It says quite a lot of issues, does spotlight function priorities, offers these sufficient to learn the entire thing some goodies to sit up for
- Cons: Says nothing at a look, by some means each an excessive amount of and never sufficient element, not really a timeline because it has no function supply estimates, and sort of mess actually
Associated:
sixth Place – EverQuest II
I’ll say that the Norrath staff at Dawn has at the least been on the roadmap band wagon for just a few years now. However what have they realized?
EverQuest II 2025 Roadmap
It’s at the least a linear timeline that’s damaged up by quarters. That may have given it a bonus over Enshrouded, had it been put to good use. It wasn’t.
As a substitute the staff broke every part down into three months and there, in tiny bullet level textual content, threw out a bunch of stuff that isn’t all of common curiosity.
I get it, they’re attempting to lump of their particular guidelines servers and their growth unlocks. Possibly these ought to have their very own roadmap? I really feel like you would winnow this right down to 7-10 key objects for stay after which a parallel roadmap for particular servers that may have issues pop at a look. As a substitute it’s a studying task with particulars about raid unlocks and the identical holidays they run yearly on the similar time. Are they fearful folks have forgotten? Do they not have information alerts within the launcher.
- Professionals: Graphical body is sweet, does talk particulars
- Cons: Has too many particulars, all in tiny textual content, with nothing to attract the attention
Associated:
seventh Place – EverQuest
EQ has their annual roadmap as nicely, and it’s even busier.
EverQuest 2025 Roadmap
I assume this actually asks the query “who is that this for?” It definitely isn’t for any outsider or informal observer, because it does nothing to interact them. It might be that Dawn has simply conceded the purpose I used to be driving on the different day, that they get so few new gamers that they don’t have to cater to them in any manner so every little thing is only for the put in base of regulars.
The textual content on this roadmap is even smaller as there may be extra to say as a result of EQ has extra particular servers in movement, every with their very own unlocks to say.
- Professionals: Is a roadmap, does talk info for a specific class of consumer
- Cons: Abdicates any outdoors engagement, tiny textual content and an excessive amount of information for readability, fails to excite anyone, doesn’t actually have a good graphical framing
Associated:
eighth Place – Lord of the Rings On-line
Inform me you don’t care about your roadmap with out telling me you don’t care about your roadmap.
LOTRO Plans for 2025
I’ll grant that that is simpler to learn that both of the Norrath roadmaps. Factors for that. However that is much less a roadmap and extra a slide from the advertising PowerPoint deck for administration.
There aren’t any graphics, not a lot in the best way of shade, nothing to attract the attention or differentiate any entry, and the entries are fairly fucking bland.
Oh, after which there may be the truth that the roadmap lacks most likely the one most essential improvement replace that occurred in 2025, the roll out of the 64-bit servers, the migration of gamers to these servers, and the shutting down of ALL 32-bit servers.
You’d suppose that form of factor would possibly earn a little bit of area on the roadmap. And it isn’t like they didn’t know at the least the primary two objects, they had been within the textual content accompanying the freaking roadmap.
However let’s give the Turbine refugees at SSG a mulligan. Let’s permit their mid-year revised roadmap, made after the entire server switch factor grew to become a fiasco. What do they are saying then?
LOTRO Q3 2025 Roadmap replace
I imply… we bought some extra particulars concerning the growth, there are another particulars added, and we are able to see we didn’t get the birding replace in Q1… however is there a point out of the server strikes? At this level they KNOW that they’re shutting down all of the 32-bit servers after having publicly given a agency “perhaps” on the subject for a number of months.
And nonetheless not a point out. All of the textual readability on the planet doesn’t make up for that vast omission that impacted actually each single participant within the recreation save for these on the 64-bit particular guidelines servers. Your whole core gamers. All of them. WTLF?
- Professionals: Clear, straightforward to learn, no extreme particulars
- Cons: No particulars in any respect within the first run, no graphics, poor use of shade, seems to be like speaking factors in a slide deck, intentionally and with malice aforethought omits the one most consequential improvement change of 2025, making it nearly a parody of a roadmap
Associated:
ninth Place – Stars Attain
That is one thing that triggered the entire roadmap concept, and in addition brings into query what a roadmap actually is and who its viewers ought to be. My very own definition on the prime emphasizes simplicity, the communication of key milestones of curiosity that may entice each present and new customers. This instance doesn’t purpose for that objective. In actual fact, I may need not included it save for the truth that they loudly introduced that they had a roadmap and… you need to play in that area then you definately get judged in opposition to your friends.
The Stars Attain 2025… roadmap factor…
The Stars Attain roadmap is what you get while you solely have builders in your venture. It’s a devops board itemizing out all potential options, some intimately, some quite vaguely. I imply, there may be an entry on that roadmap that merely says, “content material.” You possibly can click on on it for particulars, however would you?
Granted, a devops board is one thing of a roadmap. As a venture/product supervisor I work on a devops board each single day, including and modifying tales, getting developer sizing, breaking options down into the smallest attainable deliverable chunks, and prioritizing every little thing to fulfill finish consumer demand.
However when execs ask me for a roadmap for considered one of my merchandise, I don’t ship them the hyperlink to our devops board and inform them to look down the prioritized important monitor. I’m going into Miro and throw collectively one thing, typically primarily based off of the final request. These are typically Gantt charts, although I’ve one exec who desires every little thing to appear like it was finished in Visio as a result of that was what he used again within the late Paleozoic period, when he final ran a venture.
The opposite factor is that this implementation is just not grounded in any time scale in any respect. I’m within the “Spaceships” entry that’s manner down the record beneath the “Lengthy Time period Roadmap” column. Does that imply it’s a 12 months away? Two years away? 5 years away? It appears like the sport will stay a planetary survival crafting title for a very long time to return and that spaceships could also be a submit launch merchandise… submit early entry perhaps, however everyone knows you solely get one launch… since they’ll have to begin producing income sooner or later.
Sure, the entire thing is in pre-alpha. You get a cross for that for some time. However I don’t see the trail out of that on this roadmap. It’s too mired in particulars. So this complete factor makes me do an indignant eyebrows frowny face once I consider it as a roadmap for exterior use, it being so complicated and requiring drill downs for particulars and what not.
Then, by making it dynamic, it’s topic to alter with out discover. There isn’t any hint log or something, issues could transfer right here and there, present up, disappear, or no matter and until you had been taking notes and/or display photographs, it’s simply no matter it’s at any given second.
I do hope that is actually hooked as much as their dev ops board, as a result of sustaining such a roadmap impartial of that may develop into a chore and get forgotten ultimately and the entire thing will find yourself laughably old-fashioned and can ultimately get hidden by the staff out of embarrassment and disgruntled customers will then go to the web archive and display shot the backed up model to make submit that begin with, “You stated you’d do that…” or some such. I recognize the nice intentions, however I’ve seen comparable plans go awry previously.
- Professionals: Plenty of particulars, interactive, can change over time
- Cons: Not moveable, too many particulars, have to pay shut consideration to note adjustments, unwieldy, cluttered, not anchored in time, doesn’t readily talk important milestones
Associated:
After Ideas
As I stated up on the prime, that is predicated on my private definition of what makes an excellent client dealing with roadmap. However I’m open to different views. What makes for an excellent roadmap for you?
Additionally, who else did a roadmap this 12 months that I ought to have seemed into?
Lastly, I felt the necessity to get this out as a result of we’re going to begin seeing roadmaps for 2026 popping up within the subsequent 30-60 days. I’ll bear this submit in thoughts once they present up.
