World of Warcraft already has millions of users worldwide, but the game's developers are still actively making an effort to expand their audience beyond the hardcore MMORPG player. They're doing this by trying to make the game more accessible to newcomers. A developer representative said in an interview at this year's Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, that they were trying to "strike a balance" between casual and hardcore. He mentioned specifically making the user interface a little less daunting, without "dumbing down" the game.

Overall, the developer rep said Wrath of the Lich King is oriented to the higher-end player, but the number of tools and news features available in this expansion should make the game more appealing to players of all levels. The new achievement system allows players to keep track of their progress from the very beginning, and the new "refer a friend" program has helped new players get their grounding very quickly. When an existing player refers a friend and then plays the game with that friend, they both level up more quickly than they would have if they had been playing alone. The developer rep said this has been helpful in getting new players ready for the new expansion.GameTrailers: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King What's New Interview