World of Warcraftplayers are about to be overwhelmed with options. First,World of Warcraft: Shadowlandsis currently building towards its highly anticipated 9.1 Chains of Domination patch. Second,World of Warcraft Classicis moving closer to the release of theBurning Crusadeexpansion. 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 thatWorld of Warcraftplayers won’t be forced to choose.
The reason why theWorld of Warcraftplayers could be worried is due to Blizzard recently starting bothChains of DominationandBurning 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 orBurning Crusadewill be available for some time before the other launches.
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In an interview with livestreamer LingHunFuSu,World of Warcraftgame 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 andBurning Crusadewill release at the same time. Rather, Blizzard is going to verify that each release has plenty of “time and space to breathe on its own.”
Hazzikostas also clarifies the current beta situation for both versions ofWorld of Warcraft, too. He explains that whileBlizzardwants to avoid collision between the two betas, it also understands that there are players who play each version ofWorld of Warcraftand not the other. As such, both Chains of Domination andBurning Crusadecan be tested at the same time, and eventually stagger their launches without impacting the other.
One subject thatHazzikostassidestepped is the specific release dates for either Chains of Domination orBurning 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 andBurning Crusadelaunches first. TheBurning Crusadeexpansion seems like the bigger release overall, but content forShadowlandsis probably a bigger priority than content forClassic. Soon,World of Warcraftplayersmay know which is currently Blizzard’s favored game.
World of Warcraft: ShadowlandsandWorld of Warcraft Classicare available now on PC.
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