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Following months of speculation, it is now official–World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic is coming later this year.
Blizzard announced the re-release of the game’s beloved 2008 expansion as part of a livestream event, where it also revealed the new expansion for the modern version of WoW, Dragonflight. No specific release date, aside from sometime in 2022, was given for Wrath of the Lich King Classic.
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Now Playing: World of Warcraft Classic – Wrath of the Lich King Cinematic Announcement Trailer
WoW’s subscription numbers peaked during Wrath of the Lich King back in 2009, so it’s no surprise Blizzard would want to bring back the immensely popular expansion following the success of re-releases of the original version of WoW in 2019 and its first expansion, The Burning Crusade, in 2021. With Burning Crusade Classic currently nearing the end of its content cycle and the new Dragonflight expansion likely not releasing until 2023, having Wrath of the Lich King Classic arrive later this year to fill that gap makes perfect sense. As is the case with WoW Classic and Burning Crusade Classic, Wrath of the Lich King Classic will be included in WoW’s existing subscription at no additional cost.
Wrath of the Lich King introduced a number of features and moments to Blizzard’s MMORPG that would go on to become iconic parts of the game, including the continent of Northrend and its fan-favorite Grizzly Hills zone, the final confrontation with Arthas atop Icecrown Citadel, in-game achievements, the inscription profession, the Death Knight hero class, and more. While the original release of Wrath of the Lich King required players to have a level 55 character on their account before being able to create a Death Knight, players jumping into WoW Classic for the first time won’t need to in order to create a Death Knight on day one.
One key feature added late in the original Wrath of the Lich King’s content cycle that won’t be included for its Classic re-release is the game’s Dungeon Finder tool, an automated system that would assemble players for dungeons based on their role. As part of the announcement, Blizzard confirmed that the Dungeon Finder won’t be part of Wrath of the Lich King Classic. The expansion’s re-release will also include new player customization options not present in the original version, which players will be able to purchase in-game with gold. Blizzard will also be offering a level 70 character boost for players who want to get caught up in time to experience Northrend once the expansion releases.
As for WoW: Dragonflight, the game’s newest expansion will be releasing “when it’s ready.” It will introduce a new playable dragon race (that is at the same time a new class) and a new region in the form of the Dragon Isles alongside a revamp of existing systems like talents, professions, and the game’s UI.
