The 4th Season of Shadowlands is a good sign for World of Warcraft – but a bad one for those who are already waiting for the new addon.
Quite surprisingly, with the launch of the PTR for Patch 9.2.5, Blizzard announced a new feature for World of Warcraft. There will be an additional season, a “Shadowlands Season 4.” Although it comes without new raids, it offers better rewards in dungeons, PvP, and raids. But unfortunately, this also means:
The next expansion of World of Warcraft is still far, far away.
What is Shadowlands Season 4? The 4th Season of Shadowlands is expected to start with Patch 9.2.5 – in 4 to 5 months, when the current season has run its “usual duration.” In the 4th Season, there will be stronger loot, new PvP rewards, and all Shadowlands raids will also be revamped to be relevant in Season 4. Combined with an affix active in raids, old bosses are expected to provide new challenges. Additionally, recurring dungeons like Karazhan and Mechagon will return in the “M+” rotation.
The catch here: Blizzard announcing a Season 4 paints a pretty clear picture that Shadowlands will be with us for quite a while.
Many fans hoped that with an announcement for the next expansion in April, Patch 10.0 and the release of the 9th expansion would occur this year. But those dreams should be discarded as soon as possible.
Because when you calculate the timing, it simply doesn’t add up. A season typically lasts at least 6 months in World of Warcraft. The current Season 3 just started a few weeks ago, so it will definitely last until July or August. When the 4th Season starts, it will also last 6-7 months – maybe even longer.
The release of the latest expansion for World of Warcraft would thus be scheduled for the earliest in March or April 2023 – and only if Blizzard adheres to the average duration of the seasons and the development of the addon progresses at a solid pace.
At least: Blizzard shows with this action that they have recognized that the long content drought between the last patch and the release of a new addon is a problem. This is the perfect time for such an experiment. If it is well received by the community, it can be repeated in future expansions. If the feedback is rather negative, they will make changes or discard the idea completely.
Nevertheless, we should probably accept that after the announcement in April, we will have to wait quite a while before we can take our first steps in Patch 10.0 on the live servers.
But let’s be honest: For the next addon, Blizzard should take all the time in the world. It can only benefit the game and the community.
