Blizzard has set a countdown in the Gear Store that counts down to the Collector’s Edition of The War Within, the new expansion for World of Warcraft. The end date fits perfectly within the timeframe when the Alpha is supposed to start and is now causing discussions.
This is the new info:
- The new expansion The War Within is supposed to start in 2024 and will have an Alpha and a Beta beforehand.
- In the official Gear Store of Blizzard, a countdown has now appeared that ends on April 17. That’s when the pre-sale of the Collector’s Edition starts.
- When exactly The War Within starts is still not known.
What does this mean for the Alpha? The purchase of the Collector’s Edition generally comes with access to the Beta of the expansion. Access to the Alpha is not guaranteed, but the timing raises eyebrows in the community.
On Reddit, players are now speculating that the pre-sale of the Collector’s Edition coincides with the start of the Alpha on the same date. This would actually make sense for several reasons:
- According to the 2024 roadmap, the Alpha is supposed to start between Patch 10.2.6 and Season 4.
- Patch 10.2.6 brought Plunderstorm and has been live since March.
- Season 4 of Dragonflight starts on April 23, which is already coming up soon.
The Alpha of The War Within must start soon, and with April 17 as the starting date for the pre-sale of the Collector’s Edition, a concrete date would be set.
This time, the Collector’s Edition is coming in a special anniversary edition for the 20th anniversary of World of Warcraft, which will be celebrated in November 2024. It is quite possible that the Collector’s Edition will sell out even faster this time.
The Collector’s Edition of The War Within – What’s included?
So far, there are no details on what exactly the Collector’s Edition of The War Within will include. Previous collector’s boxes have typically contained:
- The actual game in the Epic Edition, meaning with all available upgrades – With access to the Beta.
- A mouse pad featuring artwork from the expansion.
- The official art book.
- Pins, which are popular collector’s items especially in the USA.
Since The War Within is being released as an anniversary edition, it is quite possible that the Collector’s Edition will be somewhat larger. However, we cannot say for sure yet. There is also no price information, which was previously around 130 euros.
The War Within is slated to be released in summer 2024. A specific date is still pending – even though the anniversary edition suggests that the expansion may not be available until November. However, according to the roadmap, it is supposed to come much earlier. We are expecting it in August.
Public tests for The War Within are still to come. However, players have been discussing for a while what the expansion needs and what it must not have. Blizzard has already responded to the criticism: The Beta of WoW The War Within is not live yet, but Blizzard already says: Sorry, we are changing that
