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World of Warcraft: Shadowlands delayed to later this year

World of Warcraft's next big expansion has been pushed from its October release date.

Donovan Erskine

October 1, 2020 2:17 PM

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World of Warcraft remains one of the most popular online games many years after its initial launch. This is thanks to developer Blizzard constantly supplying the MMO’s player base with new content to experience. World of Warcraft is set to get another major content update with the Shadowlands expansion. After much anticipation, the expansion was set to release this month. However, fans will have to wait a bit longer as Blizzard has announced World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is being delayed to later this year.

The company shared the news via the official World of Warcraft Twitter account, where they posted an extensive open letter to fans. “We felt it was important to let you know about this change in plans as soon as we could. This was an incredibly difficult decision for the team, as we’re as eager to get the expansion into your hands as you are to play it,” the post reads. “Ultimately, we feel it’s the right decision for the game - and for our players.”

pic.twitter.com/FCkGYxax60

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) October 1, 2020

Of course, this news is a disappointment to any WoW fans that were excited to be just mere weeks away from playing Shadowlands, just under a year after its announcement.That being said, it likely is what’s best. The games industry is already riddled with crunch culture, with beloved developer CD Projekt RED being no exception. If pushing the game’s release date can alleviate even a fraction of the stress on the development team, then it’s a worthwhile decision. 

The silver lining here is that we’re already in October. The post states that the game is being pushed to later in the year, meaning fans still won’t have to wait that much longer to play Shadowlands. 

Blizzard has announced that on October 13, they will release the Shadowlands pre-patch, “which lays the groundwork for the expansion and includes our revamped character leveling, new-player experience on Exile’s Reach, and a host of new character customization options.”

Stick with us here at Shacknews as we’ll continue to provide the latest news and updates on World of Warcraft: Shadowlands.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_