As Blizzard moves forward with a pretty extensive list of upgrades and new systems for World of Warcraft in 2026, players will soon be engaging in a host of new features. As WoW’s Midnight expansion approaches—please check out our Blizzard-assisted lore catch-up here—players will soon be introduced to the MMO’s new Prey system.

Launching alongside WoW Midnight, the Prey Hunts world activity will allow players to hunt specialised targets that come with their own rewards. Players will also be ambushed by boss enemies that will result in an epic 1v1 in a new, emergent style of gameplay.

In an interview with PC Gamer, senior game designer Kim Flak explained that the team was worried players would be annoyed by ambushes. However, during early access, players really enjoyed being attacked by more powerful enemies in the open world.

“One thing that I was surprised by was that players really liked being ambushed,” Flak said, adding that they were “a little afraid… that players might see these as moments of friction that felt a little unfair. Like ‘I pulled that mob, and I would’ve lived if that guy hadn’t ambushed me!’”

Flak explained that player sentiment overall was positive with players enjoying having content that pulled them out of the occasional lull of their “flow state when you’re just doing your routine” to having something that feels genuinely exciting.

“Players overall were like, ‘I like being jumped. I like that experience. It’s fun, it’s surprising, and it’s a moment for me to, all of a sudden, shift how I’m thinking about what I’m doing.’” he said. “It really delighted me, because I was hoping players were going to like the surprise of ambushes, and overall, a lot of them did”.

Flak explained that the Prey system for World of Warcraft: Midnight does have “three different tiers of difficulty” that players will learn over time with Nightmare being the “don’t AFK mode”, warning players “you might even want to log out” if they engage in the highest difficulty option for the new content.

Alongside the upcoming Prey system, World of Warcraft: Midnight also introduces player housing, a new customisation system that will give even more to do outside of their usual daily activities. Additionally, Blizzard is working on more expansive dungeons in the form of Labyrinths, something the game’s designers have described as a fix for the game’s Mythic+ problem.