Summary
World of Warcraftjust revealed an ambitious roadmap forCataclysm Classicthat will blitz through the iconic expansion in under a year. Starting with theCataclysm ClassicPre-Patch on April 30 and its full release on May 20,World of Warcraftplayers will experience a new major update every few months until the final patch releases in January 2025.
Cataclysmis one of the largest expansions inWorld of Warcrafthistory. It introduced seven huge new zones,revamped the originalWoWcontinentsof Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, and introduced tons of game-changing features like the transmog system.
Now,World of Warcraftfans can get ready to experienceCataclysmfaster than ever before. Blizzard recently revealed an ambitious roadmap forCataclysm Classicthat begins with the Pre-Patch event on April 30. Just under a month later, on May 20,World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classiclaunches. Then, every few months,World of Warcraft Classicwill release each of the expansion’s three major content updates, with Rise of the Zandalari in July, Rage of the Firelands in October, and Hour of Twilight in January of next year.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic Roadmap
IfWorld of Warcraftfollows through on this schedule, there will only be about seven months between the launch ofCataclysm Classicand its final major update. To put that into perspective, TheBurning Crusade Classiclaunched on June 28, 2025, and its final content update came out 11 months later in May 2022.Wrath of the Lich King Classicwas even longer, with 16 months between its release in September 2022 and its final raid opening in January 2024. This content release cadence will makeCataclysmthe shortest expansion inClassichistory by a wide margin.
While plenty of fans are excited aboutCataclysm Classic, some players are wondering how longWorld of Warcraftwill be able to keep these retro progression servers going. One of the biggest draws ofClassic WoWwas the ability to explore the original iteration of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. While fans can still do this in Classic Era, Hardcore, and Season of Discovery, some wonder ifCataclysm Classicmisses the point of theseWoWserversin the first place.
Either way,World of Warcraftis gearing up to bring the major expansion toClassic, and in record time. OnceCataclysm Classicwraps up next year,World of Warcraftfans will have to see if the servers continueto move through futureWoWexpansions. If it does, and it releases them at the same pace asCataclysm,World of Warcraftplayers could seeMists of Pandaria Classicas early as 2025.
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic
WHERE TO PLAY
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic is the second expansion released by Blizzard Entertainment for its popular MMORPG. It recreates the original experience prior to the more recent expansions and changes, especially those following the sweeping world changes of the Cataclysm expansion.
