When was World of Warcraft released and how many WoW expansions are there? Here’s an overview of everything you need to know.
As the World of Warcraft universe continues to expand, there are still quite a few stories to be told and vistas that remain in the shadows.
Building on the ancient stories of Blizzard’s Warcraft franchiseWoW allows players to explore the planes of Azeroth in style and carve their own PvP and PvE destiny.
As one of the oldest MMORPGs out there, you might be wondering when World of Warcraft was actually released and what the timeline looks like for all of its numerous expansions. Here’s everything you need to know, from WoW’s first release date to the dates each new installment was released.
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Home to a wealth of iconic characters, World of Warcraft is an ever-expanding world.
Release date of WoW
World of Warcraft released in 2004, Sequel to Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. With Guild Wars only came out in 2005, making WoW one of the oldest MMORPGs out there.
All WoW expansions: From Legion to Shadowlands
WoW has eight various expansions, the latest being Shadowlands. As we close the book on this divisive chapter in WoW history, Blizzard has announced that they will be revealing it next WoW expansion (supposedly called “Dragonflight”) on April 19th.
For now, however, here are all the current expansions, listed chronologically by release date:
| extension | release date |
| The Burning Crusade | 2007 |
| Wrath of the Lich King | 2008 |
| catastrophe | 2010 |
| Mists of Pandaria | 2012 |
| Warlords of Draenor | 2014 |
| legion | 2016 |
| Battle for Azeroth | 2018 |
| shadowlands | 2020 |
What is WoW Classic? Release Date & Info
Published in 2019, WoW Classic effectively restores ancient Azeroth. While it originally recreated the WoW universe prior to one of the expansions, that changed 2020 with the release of The Burning Crusade Classic.
Bringing the Twisted Nether back to life in style and reimagining some of the game’s most iconic dungeons and raids, players will be able to re-enter the action and defeat Illidan once more.
So that’s all you need to know when World of Warcraft was released, as well as all the various expansions and DLCs that spawned it.
Want to learn more about Azeroth? Also check out our other World of Warcraft guides:
https://www.dexerto.com/world-of-warcraft/when-did-world-of-warcraft-release-all-wow-expansions-classic-1800309/ When was World of Warcraft released? All WoW Expansions & Classic