Expansion

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An expansion is additional software (usually made available for retail sale) that adds new content and features to a game.

For example, The Frozen Throne expansion for Warcraft III added new campaigns, units, maps, and other content to the game.

Timeframe

It was stated in an interview prior to the first expansion, that concepts for that expansion had been made, and that Blizzard already had enough ideas for 5-6 more. As of 2023, nine have been released.

Blizzard tend to plan expansions far in advance of the current content; in February 2014 (prior to the Warlords of Draenor alpha) the team had already begun planning the next two expansions.[1]

Following the release of World of Warcraft's first expansion in 2007, Blizzard announced plans to release expansions once per year. However, this rate of production was never delivered, with subsequent expansions arriving roughly every 2 years.

Process

The process of brainstorming a new expansion generally happens 2 expansions ahead which allows for story plot point-making. Typically this happens with a large group and weekly sessions where the developers think of cool things, throw away others. It's a mix of things. They generally think about The World - the world is the main character that you explore and fill with your own story. The first question is "Where do we want to go next?" The story sometimes has to twist and turn to get there (such as Warlords of Draenor). Then they can add features that make sense alongside that world.[2]

Expansions

Warcraft II

Warcraft III

World of Warcraft

Expansion features

Expansion New locations New races New class Other major features
Burning Crusade The Burning Crusade Outland, Azuremyst Isles, Quel'Thalas, Caverns of Time Blood elf and draenei None Flying mounts, Arena, Jewelcrafting and sockets, paladin/shaman on both factions, Heroic mode dungeons
Wrath of the Lich King Wrath of the Lich King Northrend, Scarlet Enclave None Death knight Inscription and glyphs, Achievement system, Barbershop, Heroic mode raids*
Cataclysm Cataclysm Cataclysm era Azeroth with new zones, Elemental Plane Goblin and worgen None New race/class combinations, Archeology, Transmogrification*
Mists of Pandaria Mists of Pandaria Pandaria, Wandering Isle Pandaren Monk Battle pet system, Talent system revamp, Flexible raids*
Warlords of Draenor Warlords of Draenor Draenor (alternate universe) None None Garrison, player character revamp
Legion Legion Broken Isles, Mardum, Helheim, Emerald Nightmare, Argus* None Demon hunter Artifact weapons and Class Halls, Mythic+, Zone scaling
Battle for Azeroth Battle for Azeroth Kul Tiras, Zandalar, Nazjatar*, Ny'alotha* 10 allied races None Heart of Azeroth systems, Island Expeditions, Warfronts
Shadowlands Shadowlands Shadowlands, Exile's Reach None None Covenants, Torghast, improved character customization, Timewalking Campaigns
Dragonflight Dragonflight Dragon Isles, Emerald Dream* Dracthyr Evoker Skyriding mounts, Talent system revamp
The War Within The War Within Khaz Algar, Siren Isle*, Undermine*, K'aresh* Earthen None Hero talents, Delves, Warbands
Midnight Midnight Quel'Thalas, Harandar, Voidstorm Haranir None Housing, Prey, Devourer demon hunter spec

* Content that wasn't available at the launch of an expansion but was added in a later patch

Roadmaps

Starting with the launch of Dragonflight, Blizzard has revealed roadmaps for the order and timing of content updates within the game. With this precedent, official Blizzard sources verify when additions are expected to go live, either using a concrete month and date, or a general real life season. They have yet to miss or delay a date outlined on a roadmap.

  • August 2022 (Wotlk Classic)
    August 2022
    (Wotlk Classic)
  • October 2022 (Dragonflight)
    October 2022
    (Dragonflight)
  • December 2022 (Dragonflight)
    December 2022
    (Dragonflight)
  • March 2023 (Dragonflight)
    March 2023
    (Dragonflight)
  • May 2023 (Dragonflight)
    May 2023
    (Dragonflight)
  • July 2023 (Dragonflight)
    July 2023
    (Dragonflight)
  • September 2023 (Dragonflight)
    September 2023
    (Dragonflight)
  • December 2023 (Dragonflight and TWW)
    December 2023
    (Dragonflight and TWW)
  • December 2023 (Classics)
    December 2023
    (Classics)
  • June 2024 (TWW)
    June 2024
    (TWW)
  • November 2024 (Classics)
    November 2024
    (Classics)
  • November 2024 (TWW)
    November 2024
    (TWW)

Further release speculation

Questionmark-medium.png
This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

At the end of the day, Blizzard develops everything on Blizzard Time, which is more specifically "Soon". But as a player, we want to know now. That being said, you can always look at the past expansion timelines to get a rough estimate of how the expansion reveal and rollout season will progress.

Expansion Previous Patch Announced Released
Midnight The War Within August 2025 (11.2.0) August 2025 March 2026
The War Within The War Within November 2023 (10.2.0) November 2023 August 2024
Dragonflight Dragonflight February 2022 (9.2.0) April 2022 November 2022
Shadowlands Shadowlands January 2020 (8.3.0) November 2019 November 2020
Battle for Azeroth Battle for Azeroth October 2017 (7.3.0) November 2017 August 2018
Legion Legion June 2015 (6.2.0) August 2015 August 2016
Warlords of Draenor Warlords of Draenor September 2013 (5.4.0) November 2013 November 2014
Mists of Pandaria Mists of Pandaria November 2011 (4.3.0) October 2011 September 2012
Cataclysm Cataclysm December 2009 (3.3.0) August 2009 December 2010
Wrath of the Lich King Wrath of the Lich King March 2008 (2.4.0) August 2007 November 2008
Burning Crusade The Burning Crusade June 2006 (1.11.0)[k 1] October 2005 January 2007
 
  1. ^ Patch 1.12.0 wasn't a major content patch.

Amount of time since previous expansion

Expansions have lasted roughly 2 years.

  • World of Warcraft – Burning Crusade: 26 months (2004-11-23 — 2007-01-16)
  • Burning Crusade – Wrath of the Lich King: 22 months (2007-01-16 — 2008-11-13)
  • Wrath of the Lich King – Cataclysm: 25 months (2008-11-13 — 2010-12-07)
  • Cataclysm – Mists of Pandaria: 22 months (2010-12-07 — 2012-09-25)
  • Mists of Pandaria – Warlords of Draenor: 25 months (2012-09-25 — 2014-11-13)
  • Warlords of Draenor – Legion: 21 months (2014-11-13 — 2016-08-30)
  • Legion – Battle for Azeroth: 23 months (2016-08-30 — 2018-08-14)
  • Battle for Azeroth – Shadowlands: 27 months (2018-08-14 — 2020-11-23)
  • Shadowlands – Dragonflight: 24 months (2020-11-23 — 2022-11-28)
  • Dragonflight – The War Within: 21 months (2022-11-28 — 2024-08-26)
  • The War Within – Midnight: 19 months (2024-08-26 — 2026-03-02)

Announcement

Blizzard usually announces new expansions at BlizzCon, which occurs in the fall. In 2015, they broke from tradition and announced the expansion at gamescom. The expansion has typically been released a year or so later.

  • Burning Crusade: 15 months (2005-10-28 — 2007-01-16)
  • Wrath of the Lich King: 15 months (2007-08-03 — 2008-11-13)
  • Cataclysm: 16 months (2009-08-21 — 2010-12-07)
  • Mists of Pandaria: 11 months (2011-10-21 — 2012-09-25)
  • Warlords of Draenor: 12 months (2013-11-08 — 2014-11-13)
  • Legion: 12 months (2015-08-06 — 2016-08-30)
  • Battle for Azeroth: 9 months (2017-11-03 — 2018-08-14)
  • Shadowlands: 12 months (2019-11-01 — 2020-11-23)
  • Dragonflight: 7 months (2022-04-19 — 2022-11-28)
  • The War Within: 9 months (2023-11-03 — 2024-08-26)
  • Midnight: 7 months (2025-08-20 — 2026-03-02)

Alpha/Beta testing

Beta testing happens several months before release, where some lucky players get to taste the expansion for free.

  • Burning Crusade: 3 months (2006-10-12 — 2007-01-16)
  • Wrath of the Lich King: 4 months (2008-07-17 — 2008-11-13)
  • Cataclysm: 5 months (2010-06-30 — 2010-12-07)
  • Mists of Pandaria: 6 months (2012-03-21 — 2012-09-25)
  • Warlords of Draenor: 7 months (2014-04-03 — 2014-11-13)
  • Legion: 9 months (2015-11-23 — 2016-08-30)
  • Battle for Azeroth: 6 months (2018-02-07 — 2018-08-14)
  • Shadowlands: 7 months (2020-04-09 — 2020-11-23)
  • Dragonflight: 4 months (2022-07-14 — 2022-11-28)
  • The War Within: 4 months (2024-04-18 — 2024-08-26)
  • Midnight: 5 months (2025-10-02 — 2026-03-02)

Release date announced

The release date is announced a few months before release:

  • Burning Crusade: 2 months (2006-11-09 — 2007-01-16)
  • Wrath of the Lich King: 2 months (2008-09-15 — 2008-11-13)
  • Cataclysm: 2 months (2010-10-04 — 2010-12-07)
  • Mists of Pandaria: 2 months (2012-07-25 — 2012-09-25)
  • Warlords of Draenor: 3 months (2014-08-14 — 2014-11-13)
  • Legion: 4 months (2016-04-18 — 2016-08-30)
  • Battle for Azeroth: 4 months (2018-04-05 — 2018-08-14)
  • Shadowlands: 1 month (2020-10-29 — 2020-11-23), originally 2020-08-27 — 2020-10-26 prior to being pushed back, which is about 2 months; it would have been 3 months from the original release date announcement to the push back release date
  • Dragonflight: 2 months (2022-09-29 — 2022-11-28)
  • The War Within: 2 months (2024-06-09 — 2024-08-26)
  • Midnight: 3 months (2025-11-26 — 2026-03-02)

Amount of time between last raid patch and release

A substantial part of a year has taken place between the last raid patch release from the previous expansion and the launch of the next expansion:

  • Patch 1.11 – Burning Crusade: 7 months (2006-06-20 — 2007-01-16)
  • Patch 2.4 – Wrath of the Lich King: 7.5 months (2008-03-25 — 2008-11-13)
  • Patch 3.3 – Cataclysm: 12 months (2009-12-08 — 2010-12-07)
  • Patch 4.3 – Mists of Pandaria: 10 months (2011-11-29 — 2012-09-25)
  • Patch 5.4 – Warlords of Draenor: 14 months (2013-09-10 — 2014-11-13)
  • Patch 6.2 – Legion: 14 months (2015-06-23 — 2016-08-30)
  • Patch 7.3 – Battle for Azeroth: 11.5 months (2017-08-29 — 2018-08-14)
  • Patch 8.3 – Shadowlands: 10 months (2020-01-14 — 2020-11-23)
  • Patch 9.2 – Dragonflight: 9 months (2022-02-22 — 2022-11-28)
  • Patch 10.2 – The War Within: 9.5 months (2023-11-07 — 2024-08-26)
  • Patch 11.2 – Midnight: 7 months (2025-08-05 — 2026-03-02)

Release

Almost all releases have been between September and December, one reckoning of autumn.

  • Burning Crusade: January 2007
  • Wrath of the Lich King: November 2008
  • Cataclysm: December 2010
  • Mists of Pandaria: September 2012
  • Warlords of Draenor: November 2014
  • Legion: August 2016
  • Battle for Azeroth: August 2018
  • Shadowlands: November 2020
  • Dragonflight: November 2022
  • The War Within: August 2024
  • Midnight: March 2026

Conclusion

According to the past releases we know, we will typically learn about new expansions at BlizzCon, and have an 11-16 month wait for their releases. Previously, it was possible to learn about new expansions at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational until being merged with BlizzCon.

There have been some occasions where an expansion was announced elsewhere:

At release time

  • The rush of players into brand-new, highly-anticipated content can be huge, if you try to play at the moment it is opened up expect some server burps and issues. Blizzard tries to make sure capacity is up before launch, but understand they have no control over how many of the playerbase take off work/school and dive in immediately.
  • You may want to log onto any characters at the former level cap and make sure they are in inns to make sure they start to accrue rested bonus.
  • While not a part of the expansion, the release of an expansion is usually a gold rush for the savvy player. Many wealthy (in-game) players and guilds try to level up their characters as quickly as possible and will pay any price for profession materials in the auction house. If you can part with the raw materials for your profession for a week or so, you can make a tidy profit until the prices come down.

See also

References

 
  1. ^ chaud 2014-02-26. Warlords of Draenor Dev Interview, Season 15 Begins, Season 14 Titles, Blue Tweets. MMO-Champion.
  2. ^ perculia 2019-11-02. BlizzCon 2019 World of Warcraft: Q&A Liveblog. Wowhead.
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