Everyone is laughing over World of Warcraft’s player housing joke, but I’m just thinking about this indie game

For April Fools’ the Warcraft team joked that a typo in player housing incorrectly characterized the feature: instead it was player houses, allowing players to literally be houses. And I know, you’re excited about this one. I’ve seen a lot of people laughing at the trailer showing a house wandering Azeroth, fighting mobs and even fishing.

But I’m here to tell you there’s another game (coming out this year) that has this kind of being-a-house fun and it isn’t a joke.

It’s a funny clip, but all I could think about when I saw it was the game Building Relationships, which was announced at Day of the Devs 2024. In the game you’re a house, bouncing around the beach, talking to your fellow houses, fishing, and trying to find a date. (Because obviously it’s a dating sim. A dating sim in which you are a house.) The house can even wear hats, which takes it to a whole new level.

Granted, World of Warcraft has much better graphics than this game, but the housing video just fell flat for me because it lacked the heart (and straight-out weirdness) of Building Relationships. (Also the Warcraft house does not seem to be able to jump, which immediately reduces the fun.) You should watch the developer-narrated trailer yourself to see what I mean.

So okay Warcraft devs, your house joke was cute and all… but it’s no Building Relationships. The game isn’t out yet, but it’s due to launch in 2025 and there’s a demo you can play right now if you really want to be a (low rez) house bouncing around the landscape and fishing (for cars). This is a deeply strange, but weirdly charming game. You can download the demo or wishlist it on Steam if you are also excited about being a house. (After all, we all have to take a break from Warcraft sometimes.)

Also, devs, please don’t joke about player housing not being real. Someone might hear you and take you seriously. We can’t take that risk!