It has been a couple of weeks since World of Warcraft released Eternity’s End, the final chapter of the Shadowlands story, meaning players have been awaiting an announcement of what comes next. Blizzard just announced a roadmap of announcements for Warcraft titles, including the upcoming ninth expansion pack for World of Warcraft.According to the press release, Blizzard will announce the ninth WoW expansion pack on April 19, giving players time to defeat the Jailer and see the epilogue chapters of Shadowlands in the coming weeks. Though unconfirmed, it is also likely World of Warcraft’s announcement will be paired with a new pre-rendered cutscene, like Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands before it.Blizzard also announced dates for other reveals for Warcraft titles. It plans on revealing the next expansion for Hearthstone on March 15, which will bring with it a new cycle of updates to core cards and a new season of standard. Later in May, the upcoming Warcraft mobile game will be revealed, which will hopefully give an idea as to what kind of game it will be, and how it will play into the Warcraft universe.
The announcement of the next World of Warcraft expansion has been highly anticipated. In the last couple of months, dozens of rumors, concepts, and supposed leaks have cropped up around the internet. Many of them point towards a dragon-themed World of Warcraft expansion, either revolving around the storied Dragon Isles or the Emerald Dream. Fans will not have to wait long to see how accurate these predictions and reported leaks were.
World of Warcraft players are glad to finally have a date to mark on their calendars regarding the next expansion. Shadowlands has been a controversial expansion pack, and though some have enjoyed the narrative it presented, many have been looking forward to what comes next. After the “cosmic burnout” many have experienced with the lofty narrative, many fans hope for a chance to return to their Azerothian adventures, like how Final Fantasy 14 is doing with its upcoming Newfound Adventure patch for Endwalker.
Some World of Warcraft fans are less optimistic. Shadowlands has experienced myriad delays over the last two years due to the COVID-19 epidemic and the sexual harassment and discrimination allegations and lawsuits Blizzard has been entangled with. Though many fans have given up hope on Blizzard, some are willing to give it one more chance. Either way, whatever World of Warcraft reveals on April 19 could make or break the venerable MMORPG.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available on PC.
Source: Blizzard