Blizzard promises ‘more frequent major’ World of Warcraft content launches as Shadowlands gets a release date

Blizzard is planning “more frequent major” World of Warcraft content launches over the coming years, beginning with its newly dated Shadowlands expansion.

Previously scheduled to launch this week before it was delayed in early October, Shadowlands will now be released on November 23 at 3pm PST (November 24 at 12am CET).

Speaking during Activision Blizzard’s third quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Bobby Kotick said the company is planning increased support for the long-running game following strong player growth since the release of World of Warcraft Classic last year.

Released in August 2019 to coincide with the franchise’s 15th anniversary, Classic lets World of Warcraft subscribers experience the early days of Blizzard’s MMO with an authentic recreation of the pre-expansion game.

“In World of Warcraft, we’ve seen unprecedented engagement trends since the subscriber base doubled following the launch of Classic last year,” Kotick said.

“Pre-sales of the upcoming Shadowlands expansion are the highest we’ve seen at this stage ahead of any release,” he continued.

“Blizzard has the largest team ever working on ensuring Shadowlands meets all of our players’ highest expectations and to deliver more frequent major content launches across both the modern game and Classic in the years ahead.”

Blizzard today announced dates for the following Shadowlands content releases:

• The Scourge Invade Azeroth November 10 – With the Helm of Domination torn apart and the sky over Icecrown shattered, the undead Scourge make a resurgence—and Azeroth’s heroes must confront this Death-born threat before it consumes the mortal world of Azeroth. This Shadowlands pre-expansion event goes live starting November 10.
• The Gates of Castle Nathria Open December 8 – Castle Nathria, the first epic 10-boss raid of Shadowlands, will be available starting December 8. The opening of the raid also signals the start of Shadowlands Raid, Mythic Dungeon, and PvP Season 1.

Further reading

Watch again: World of Warcraft Shadowlands live stream

Presentation reveals upcoming beta, release window and Collector's Edition