World of Warcraft players are about to be overwhelmed with options. First, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is currently building towards its highly anticipated 9.1 Chains of Domination patch. Second, World of Warcraft Classic is moving closer to the release of the Burning Crusade expansion. The only problem is that these two events are currently overlapping, causing some to question if both will arrive at the same time. Thankfully, Blizzard has now clarified that World of Warcraft players won't be forced to choose.
The reason why the World of Warcraft players could be worried is due to Blizzard recently starting both Chains of Domination and Burning Crusade's betas at the same time. Historically, Blizzard fully releases updates in a rather reliable cadence following the launch of their betas. In this case, however, it seems that Blizzard will have to hold back one of its betas so that they don't overlap. That way Chains of Domination or Burning Crusade will be available for some time before the other launches.
In an interview with livestreamer LingHunFuSu, World of Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas addressed the issued directly, discussing the possibility of both updates' launches coinciding. Hazzikostas makes clear that it isn't going to happen, saying that it's "very unlikely" both Chains of Domination and Burning Crusade will release at the same time. Rather, Blizzard is going to make sure that each release has plenty of "time and space to breathe on its own."
Hazzikostas also clarifies the current beta situation for both versions of World of Warcraft, too. He explains that while Blizzard wants to avoid collision between the two betas, it also understands that there are players who play each version of World of Warcraft and not the other. As such, both Chains of Domination and Burning Crusade can be tested at the same time, and eventually stagger their launches without impacting the other.
One subject that Hazzikostas sidestepped is the specific release dates for either Chains of Domination or Burning Crusade. Neither currently has a release date, but each could potentially launch within so many months. The official Blizzard line is, of course, that they'll get release dates when they're ready.
The bigger question right now is whether Chains of Domination and Burning Crusade launches first. The Burning Crusade expansion seems like the bigger release overall, but content for Shadowlands is probably a bigger priority than content for Classic. Soon, World of Warcraft players may know which is currently Blizzard's favored game.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and World of Warcraft Classic are available now on PC.
Source: LingHunFuSu (via WoWHead)