What We Know About the New World of Warcraft Expansion

Around 18 months since the arrival of Shadowlands, the latest World of Warcraft expansion is now just around the corner. Speculation has been rife since last year about what might be in store. Subsequently, fans of the franchise have increasingly bought into rumors surrounding a trip to the so-called Dragon Isles.

Blizzard Entertainment gave its fanbase a look inside the new World of Warcraft expansion on April 19th, 2022. Here’s everything you need to know about the expansion.

The next installment of the World of Warcraft franchise will mark the ninth expansion in the series. This expansion follows 2007’s The Burning Crusade, the Mists of Pandaria from 2012, and the latest major update, Shadowlands, which launched in November 2020.

The Blizzard Entertainment event was held on April 19th. Viewers worldwide tuned in to the event live on YouTube and Twitch. The stream began at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time from Blizzard’s headquarters in California.

Traditionally, new World of Warcraft expansions come roughly every two years since 2007 and 2008. Almost all have landed between August and December following an announcement a few months prior. On that basis, the ninth expansion in the series seemed practically sure to arrive at a similar point this year, with a date during November 2022 most probable.

However, WoW creator Blizzard Entertainment looks like it may break with tradition for the first time in roughly a decade and a half. That’s because the all-new, potentially Dragon Isles-based installment may not appear until early in 2023.

The name of the next installment of World of Warcraft leans heavily into its Dragon Isles setting. With that, the ninth WoW expansion will have the name Dragonflight.

Furthermore, it’s a name that’s far from without basis. Dragon Isles itself had been planned as a part of the original World of Warcraft game. Players will be able to explore the Dragon Isles as a new playable dragon race, the Dracthyr. As evident from the name of the expansion, players will also be able to ride dragons within the Dragon Isles’ four zones.

With the name Dragonflight and a setting in Dragon Isles, one thing seems quite certain: dragons – lots and lots of dragons. They’re a feature that’s been distinctly lacking since the game’s 2010 Cataclysm expansion.

According to the announcement, the expansion will focus heavily on exploration. Players befriend dragons and become dragon riders, which helps them explore further within the region’s four zones. There are four new drake mounts that players can use to fly around the world. The Dracthyr are dragons that can transform into people. They also offer new playing styles that should add a whole new level of excitement to the gameplay.

It’ll be a wait of at least a few months until players find themselves privy to the whole story when they finally get their hands on the new expansion in all its glory later this year or early next year.

Although news of the next installment of World of Warcraft is now available, it could be up to 12 months until the update is released to fans. Thankfully, there’s plenty more to look forward to, gaming-wise, in the meantime. That includes a plethora of all-new titles for Nintendo’s ever-popular Switch.

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