With the release of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, there are now numerous theories being discussed, and they are becoming more accurate. Several reasons now suggest a release on November 10 – however, one also speaks against it.
What reasons support this? It has been known for some time that Shadowlands is set to release in autumn 2020, and Game Director Ion Hazzikostas has confirmed, that the expansion will still arrive in 2020 despite Corona.
While this is not a concrete statement, a release in November would come after important events like Gamescom and Blizzcon, and just in time for the Christmas season. This already makes it a likely month.
Additionally, the beta of Shadowlands started in July. Traditionally, the beta of a new expansion in World of Warcraft lasts exactly 4 months, with few exceptions. This would also point to November 10 as a possible date.
The third reason is that in the currently running beta of Shadowlands, the first PvP brawl has been assigned a date. It is set to start in 98 days from the time of writing, on December 1.
By then, Shadowlands would already need to be released. Furthermore, a brawl typically begins with the first season, which appears three weeks after the release of an expansion.
Counting three weeks back from December 1, we again arrive at November 10.
Previously, on August 27, you can see the first new cinematics for Shadowlands, which tell the stories of legendary, now-deceased NPCs.
What reason speaks against it? Only the already deployed pre-patch on the PTR disrupts this calculation. Pre-patches traditionally stay on the PTR for about four weeks before they go live and remain active for another 2-4 weeks.
Based on these dates, Shadowlands would already have to release a month earlier, in mid-October. A release before October is already virtually ruled out, as some mechanics from Battle for Azeroth will still definitely be active by then. That makes mid-October also quite unlikely, as it would be strange to take something away from players that they have just received.
Innovations in Shadowlands
When the new expansion arrives, you will find numerous innovations along with new major features like the covenants. These include:
- new graphics options with ray tracing
- revisions of all classes with returning abilities
- a completely new leveling experience with a level squish
Many rumors and theories surround the release of the new expansion; however, nothing has been confirmed so far. Our date here is also based on assumptions that have not yet been confirmed. Nevertheless, the release on November 10 seems to become increasingly likely.
For more information about the new addon, you can find in our extensive special on Shadowlands.
