'World of Warcraft' expansion rumors: Clues reveal possible gameplay elements

"World of Warcraft" promo wallpaperBlizzard

"World of Warcraft" is expanding. Well, sort of.

Ion Hazzikostas, game director of "World of Warcraft," recapped 2017 plans for the franchise. He discussed the Legion patch in detail and the adjustments made on each of them. He attributed the new raids, content and the return of Karazhan as one of the most successful expansions in the history of "World of Warcraft."

Many fans declared that the Legion patch was the franchise's lifesaver as support for "World of Warcraft" has been waning.

The rumored new expansion could have an Old God or Kul Tiras, which observers have noted to be in line with datamined information. It also coincides with the appearance of Jaina Proudmoore in the key art for BlizzCon 2017. In the game's story, Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, Jaina's father, was the lord of Kul Tiras.

It can be remembered that some files were recently discovered by players. The files, hiding behind an encryption key, were found to be referencing a mount tagged as "raptormount_v2." Another mount, Seabraid Stallion, was also found as well as a battle pet that could end up being called "Tottle."

Back in July, Wowhead discovered interesting files hidden in the Public Test Realm build for patch 7.3. Several sets of armor were discovered and this could also be one the clues to what may come in the next expansion.

It's still not clear whether Jaina will be portrayed as a hero or villain, but many believe that she will play an integral part in the next expansion. There are also reports that the villains on the expansion, the Burning Legion, could play a major role similar to Gul'dan who was carried over from Warlords of Draenor to Legion.

More details about the rumored expansion and the current state of Legion could be revealed during a Q&A session with the game director on Thursday, Oct. 5.