SinceWorld of WarcraftannouncedDragonflightin April, there has been precious little information revealed about the expansion, much less a release date. However,World of Warcraftjust surprised players by announcing it plans on shippingDragonflightbefore the end of the year.Pre-orders forWorld of Warcraft: Dragonflightjust recently went live.Dragonflightis available in four different editions: Base, Heroic, Epic, and Collector’s. Each edition gives more rewards than the last, though their prices have increased sinceShadowlands.RELATED:Stranger Things Star Reveals His Obsession with World of WarcraftHowever, in the product requirements section of the pre-order page on Battle.net, players discovered a bold claim. According to the page,World of Warcraft: Dragonflightwill be available on or before December 31 of this year. If this claim proves to be true, it would be the shortest period of time between an expansion announcement and launch inWorld of Warcrafthistory, let alone in the history of MMOs in general.
In previous interviews,Blizzard has stated it was “very far along” in the production ofDragonflight. According to several developers, it has been working on the expansion for several years now.Shadowlandsadditionally only had two major raid tier patches, as opposed to the normal three most expansions have. It is possibleWorld of Warcrafthas been able to power through the production process much faster than anyone anticipated.
Many fans are worried about the ambitious plans to releaseDragonflightbefore the end of the year. While players would be excited to play the game earlier than expected, they would rather it take the time it needs to be completely finished, rather than rushed as so many games tend to be. What’s more, manyWorld of Warcraftfans believeDragonflightcould be its most important expansion yet, given the poor reputation Blizzard has gotten over the last several years.
World of Warcrafthas not yet begun its public alpha or beta testing forDragonflight, which has led many fans to doubt the prospective release window. A winter release would also causeDragonflightto compete withWrath of the Lich King Classic, creating further skepticism. Without a solid date,World of Warcraftcan generate hype and excitement for the pre-orders and appease shareholders, while not making a hard commitment. Players will have to wait and see ifWorld of Warcraftcan make its 2022 goal, but it is both possible and likelyDragonflightwill be delayed to Q1 or even Q2 of 2023.
World of Warcraftis available now on PC.Dragonflightplans to launch later this year.
