There is a heated discussion about the next WoW expansion. But when is a likely release date?
Although the last raid Antorus, the Burning Throne has not yet been released, fans are already speculating about the release of the next expansion of World of Warcraft. In just under a month, there will be concrete information, as BlizzCon 2017 will take place, where the latest expansion will likely be extensively presented.
The “usual” course would then be a waiting period of almost a year. Legion was announced in August 2015, and the release was scheduled for the end of August 2016.
This would, in turn, mean that players would have to endure a year without content patches and would practically experience nothing new in 2018. One only needs to whisper the word “Hellfire Citadel” softly in the room, and players immediately get flashbacks.
WoW Patch 8.0 already in summer 2018?
However, there are also a few considerably more optimistic assumptions. Some players are already counting on the next expansion to be released at the beginning of summer 2018. After all, Blizzard has been working significantly faster and more effectively in recent months than in previous years. Every 3 months, there was a major content patch – so why shouldn’t the development of an addon proceed faster as well?
To support this theory, every word from the developers is also often put on the interpretative scales.
In the Q&A with Game Director Ion Hazzikostas regarding “Tier 21 sets” from Antorus, when discussing class sets, it was mentioned that “sets would be used for 5-7 months” and therefore need to be well balanced. This statement about “5-7 months” is already a clear indicator for some players that Patch 8.0 will be released in early summer 2018.
The result will likely lie somewhere in between. If Blizzard presents the expansion at BlizzCon 2017, it is likely to be only a few months before the “Friends & Family” alpha begins, which will soon be followed by a closed beta. A release somewhere between the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2018 seems quite possible.
Whether Blizzard can maintain the “faster releases” not only for patches but also for full expansions, we will probably find out in 2018.
When do you think Patch 8.0 and thus the next expansion of WoW will occur? Still in 2018? Or will it drag on until 2019 without fresh content?
