WoW is a mystery for me. The game is so bad in comparison to other IPs out there right now I could only stomach a total of 10 hours of it before I walked away and happily embraced EQ2.

With that said...

I do not know what this WoW killer IP quest is all about. It will not be a specific IP that will “kill” WoW, it will be game play, as Arabica said. Further still WoW will not “die” for a very VERY long time. it’s growth has continued somewhat but it is not substantial like it was in the first couple of years. It will level out some and then drop a couple million players and stat put for a decade or so. Even then WoW will only “die” when Blizzard decides to shut it down.

This WoW killer myth is really kind of annoying. What people should be looking for or looking to develop is a master crafted MMORPG that aims to not “kill” WoW but to do as well as WoW. Keep in mind the success of WoW is a result of mass cultural adhesion. Its success can be compared to the relative success of the Star Wars sequels. There is a formula in there some place; similar in idea to the formula that makes a blockbuster movie (which is rarely about story quality and more about mass appeal). If that formula can be revealed, that method pinpointed, we will see a success rate in MMORPGs like that of movies...

It might be helpful to approach the success off MMORPGs to come and the industry of MMORPGs conceptually as Independent films, Sundance films and Hollywood films. Identifying a MMORPG complex like that of the Hollywood complex and your golden.

The next “big” MMORPG will not be a Star Wars MMORPG, it will be something different, but not something new.