World of Warcraft Classic to launch in 2019, will be included in subscription

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Nostalgia trip

World of Warcraft Classic will launch in 'summer 2019', according to Blizzard.

Blizzard announced the release window during its annual Blizzcon convention, revealing the servers will be available to any players who have an active World of Warcraft subscription at no extra cost. 

World of Warcraft Classic will allow players to experience the original base game as it was over 10 years ago, before the various expansions and gameplay changes. In particular, the foundation of Classic will be Patch 1.12: Drums of War which released in 2006.

You won't need to purchase a separate game for World of Warcraft Classic, instead new servers will go live which will allow players to jump in (however you'll need to create new characters as everything is back to basics). 

While Classic seems like it'll be a nostalgia trip, the World of Warcraft of old was actually much slower paced and challenging - with players leveling up much slower and a lot less content. In other words, it's going to be very time consuming and requiring a lot of grinding whereas modern World of Warcraft features quality-of-life perks and instant leveling. 

World of Warcraft Classic will launch summer 2019 (that's in the US, so June-August). We've already played some of the demo, so keep an eye out for our thoughts.

Vic Hood
Freelance writer

An award-winning games journalist, with seven years of experience in games journalism and a degree in journalism from City University, London, Vic brings experience from IGN, Eurogamer, The Telegraph, VG247, Dot Esports and more to the TechRadar table. You may have even heard her on the radio or speaking on a panel, as she’s previously appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio Ulster and more. Not only is Vic passionate about games, but she's appeared on both panels and podcasts to discuss mental health awareness. Make sure to follow her on Twitter for more.