WoW’s new Undermine(d) patch had a live jazz ensemble recording its big-band bangers, and they got to improvise: ‘Usually those were the takes that ended up in the final version’

WoW’s Undermine(d) patch is out, and it’s downright groovy—having done a few laps around the goblin city of Undermine myself, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how the game’s soundtrack, usually pretty ambient, has been front and center. I’ve been cranking that stuff up while stubbornly grabbing gold in my clunky car.

Turns out, as per a recent dev diary, that the game’s composers worked on it with a live jazz ensemble—and while they definitely came out swinging with a template, a lot of what you’re hearing while you and your mates are beating Gallywix up was improvised during the recording session.