Blizzard’s Battle.net launcher will now let you add, manage, and chat to friends from across the world—though you’ll still only be able to play with those in your current region.
Added in an update yesterday (and spotted by Wowhead), Blizzard’s launcher will no longer restrict your friends list to those in your region. An example screenshot on the launcher’s patch notes reveals that any friends you have from outside the region will now have their location listed beside their current activity.
But while you’ll now be able to chat and keep track of your pals from overseas, we’re not quite at a point where you’ll be able to play with them. All of Blizzard’s games are still cordoned off with regional servers, restricting characters and accounts to the continent where they started.
Naturally, China will also remain cordoned off from the rest of the world, both in-game and from this new global chat ecosystem.
Maybe one day you’ll be able to saddle up with a WoW party from across Europe, Asia and America. But for now, Blizzard has no plans to push in that direction. At least you can now hang out in chat together while going your separate ways.