World of Warcraft players are anxious for more information about the MMO's upcoming expansion, Shadowlands. The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ongoing protests in the USA, have made scheduling a Shadowlands event a bit challenging to hammer down, however. Blizzard thinks it has everything worked out now, however, and has announced a new date for its planned World of Warcraft: Shadowlands broadcast. World of Warcraft players can mark July 8 at 9:00 am PT on their calendars.
The World of Warcraft: Shadowlands live stream was initially scheduled to run on June 9. Blizzard delayed the stream out of respect for the ongoing protests against police brutality in the United States, but didn't confirm a new date at the time. July 8 is later than many expected the livestream to be delayed, but fans are likely to be understanding given the circumstances. With over a dozen events planned across the industry for the next month things are constantly shifting — Blizzard just had to find where it fit in.
As for what kind of coverage World of Warcraft players can expect, Blizzard keeping its secrets well. World of Warcraft's executive producer, John Hight, and Game Director Ion Hazzikostas will both be appearing on the show to discuss Shadowlands. As for what specific content they'll be discussing, nothing's been shared.
Fans will likely have one major expectation from the Shadowlands livestream and everything else will be a bonus. That expectation is Shadowlands' release date. The World of Warcraft expansion is currently only announced to launch in 2020, so fans are hoping for something more specific. Blizzard will probably deliver unless there's an unannounced Blizzard event planned for this summer, which seems unlikely.
While recent World of Warcraft expansions have typically launched in August, many speculate Shadowlands' release date might be further off. The state of Shadowlands' alpha test features much less content than would be expected for an August release date, fans believe. They say a November or later launch might be in store. However, Blizzard could be holding back. A big update could drop any day now, followed by one big final testing period and then launch. Anything could happen.
World of Warcraft players will get to find out what's happening with Shadowlands in a relatively short amount of time, for better or worse. Stay tuned for more information from Blizzard soon and look forward to July 8 at 9:00 am PT.
World of Warcraft is available now on PC.