Blizzard Entertainment revealed three new World of Warcraft expansions this weekend during BlizzCon 2023, starting with The War Within, which launches next year. Midnight will follow it in the new Worldsoul Saga, which the studio is calling an “ambitious creative endeavor for the Warcraft universe,” and The Last Titan will release after that. Together, The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan make up the Worldsoul Saga.
“Deep beneath the surface, an ancient Nerubian civilization is rising to power, aided by Xal’atath, the harbinger of the Void first introduced in the Legion expansion,” a press release reads. “Players will need to enlist the aid of the Earthen, a new allied race available to both Horde and Alliance players, as they make their way deeper and discover an entirely new world that has existed for centuries and whose denizens are preparing for conflicts that loom on the horizon.”
Check out the World of Warcraft: The War Within cinematic trailer for yourself below:
In The War Within, which is set to launch sometime in 2024, Blizzard says the level cap will be raised to 80 as players discover enemies, loot, new allies, and more in new zones like the surface-level Isle of Dorn, the industrial Ringing Deeps, the bright and lush Hallowfall, and Azi-kahet, the pinnacle of Nerubian society.
The War Within will introduce Delves to the game, too. These are scalable world instances for 1 to 5 players and experience earned in them contributes to a new reward track in the Great Vault for world content players.
“New Hero Talents for each class specialization will provide players a way to progress their characters with evergreen self-contained talent trees that also infuse class fantasy flavor inspired by iconic Warcraft universe archetypes such as a Mountain Thane for Warriors or a Dark Ranger for Hunters,” a press release reads. “With Warbands, players can enjoy account-wide progression with all characters in their Battle.net account, regardless of faction, that includes shared War Within renown, a warband bank, achievements, and more. Additionally, a new change to transmog collection will let players learn the appearance of any gear type, even if they cannot equip it.”
World of Warcraft: The War Within hits PC and Mac in 2024.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic
Elsewhere during BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard pulled back the curtains on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic.
“Deathwing the Destroyer returns to Azeroth, erupting from the elemental plane of Deephold and sundering the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents,” a press release reads. “Blizzard Entertainment’s third World of Warcraft expansion, originally released in December 2010, returns with an improved leveling experience, new dungeon difficulty system, and more.”
Two new playable races – Worgens and Goblins – join the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde in Cataclysm Classic, alongside a new level cap of 85, new zones, new levels of power, and more.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic hits PC and Mac sometime in 2024.
World of Warcraft Classic: Season of Discovery
The final World of Warcraft news from this year’s BlizzCon event is the Season of Discovery, which goes live later this year. In Season of Discovery, players will start a fresh adventure where exploration and experimentation will be key to unlocking new abilities for their characters. Plus, classic dungeons and world player-versus-player events will give players the chance to test their newly acquired abilities as they traverse the world searching for more things to discover.
Other World of Warcraft-releated announcements from this year’s BlizzCon event include Hearthstone Battlegrounds Duos, “an exciting and truly collaborative way to play coming to the popular game mode in 2024,” according to Blizzard, and the full release of Warcraft Rumble, previously called Warcraft Arclight Rumble, on iOS and Android devices.
For more, read about World of Warcraft’s Dragonflight expansion and then read Game Informer’s Diablo IV review. After that, read about this new Mountain Dew Game Fuel flavor that unlocks exclusive in-game Diablo IV rewards.
Which World of Warcraft announcement are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!