Timeline (World of Warcraft)

For other timelines, see Timeline (disambiguation).

As time passes in game, and the lore moves and changes, another story is written - the Real Life world surrounding the game. As people start to play over time periods of years they remember some events ingame as "Before X patch" or "I remember the first time World of Warcraft was in a question on Jeopardy". You also run into older players whose stories you may find hard to believe - was there really a plague that unexpectedly hopped out of a raid and into the capital cites? Was there really a time when you had to land and pick a new flight-point at each flight-point?

This page follows the timeline from the release of World of Warcraft through present day in its culture as it applies to the players, helping us remember exactly when things happened.

After all,  [What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been]!

1999

Development of World of Warcraft begins.

2001

September 2 - World of Warcraft announced at a press conference of the European Computer Trade Show

• The player base was somewhat divided on it. One of the things which kept people happily playing Diablo, Warcraft and StarCraft was that it was completely free to play those online after buying the game - all you needed was an internet connection. The fact that a Blizzard game would be a monthly pay-to-play rankled some.^{[citation needed]} 

2003

Sometime in 2003: World of Warcraft friends and family alpha released

September 9 - World of Warcraft (Livejournal Community) created

2004

The original login screen. This is the third-longest-running login screen, at 743 days.

February - World of Warcraft Beta Test begins

September 5 - it is reported that Blizzard has entered into an agreement with AT&T to handle the systems' servers.

• One article refers to the prospective players as "Warcrafters", a term which doesn't really stick.

November 17 - "I Surrender" debuts (archived copy)

November 23 - World of Warcraft launches in North America, Australia and New Zealand

• Starting level cap is 60
• Only Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor available at launch
• Starting races:
  • Alliance: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome
  • Horde: Orc, Troll, Undead, Tauren
• Starting classes:
  • Druid, Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Warrior, Warlock
• Faction-specific classes:
  • Shaman for Horde
  • Paladin for Alliance
• 60% speed land mount at level 40, 100% speed epic land mount at level 60. (No flying mounts.)
• There were 88 United States realms at launch (43 PvP, 40 PvE, 5 RP), plus more realms for Europe and Oceania.
• The average computer a player was using in 2004 to log in:
  • Many were still using a 4:3 CRT monitor (LCD existed but was not popular yet) and a desktop computer to play. Most laptops didn't have enough power to run the game smoothly.
  • Processor speeds were 2.0 - 3.4 Ghz
  • Memory: 1 - 4 Gigabytes of RAM
  • 3D cards had 256 or 512 megabytes ram
  • People were using Windows XP, but some were still using Windows 2000 or earlier
  • The game had to be installed via CD/DVDRom drive. The game was on 4 CDs (5 for the "Game of the Year" edition) which needed to be installed, and then patching had to happen. You could not download the initial game, and initial patch downloads could take an hour or more.
  • Some players played via dialup modem, and this made their characters jump around as they walked when viewed by other players

November 24 - WoWWiki Launched

December 18 - Patch 1.2.0

• Maraudon added

2005

The first ever legendary item drop.

The first time World of Warcraft was an answer on Jeopardy! was on November 16, 2005.

January 18 - World of Warcraft launches in South Korea

January 28 - The world first of world first raid boss kills, Onyxia falls at the hands of Chosen (Elune-KR)

February 11 - World of Warcraft launches in Europe

March 7 - Patch 1.3.0

• Dire Maul added

March 23 - The first legendary item ever to appear to players in the game,  [Talisman of Binding Shard] drops in Molten Core. It is immediately hotfixed out of the game.

April 8 - Patch 1.4.0

• PvP Honor System

April 26 - World of Warcraft open beta test launches in China under licensee The9, with 100,000 players signing up in the first hour of registration

May 11 - The Leeroy Jenkins video becomes popular

June 7

• World of Warcraft launches in China
• Patch 1.5.0
  • Battlegrounds introduced
    • Warsong Gulch
    • Alterac Valley

July 12 - Patch 1.6.0

• Blackwing Lair added
• Darkmoon Faire added

August - World of Warcraft reaches 4 million subscribers

September 13 - Patch 1.7.0

• Zul'Gurub added
• Arathi Basin battleground added
• Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza
• [Corrupted Blood] begins as the result of a glitch in Zul'Gurub

September 15 - Corrupted Blood incident

October 10 - Patch 1.8.0

• Corrupted Blood fixed

October 28—29 - BlizzCon

• The Burning Crusade announced
  • Blood elves announced as the new Horde race, with the new Alliance race to be announced at a future time

November

• World of Warcraft reaches 5 million subscribers
• World of Warcraft launches in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau

November 16 - World of Warcraft is featured in a question on the game show Jeopardy!

• None of the three players knew the answer, or even tried to guess.

November 23 - WoW Insider launches.

December 20 - The famous Numa Numa song comes to World of Warcraft on YouTube.

December 30 - Creation of the Wowhead website.

2006

The Characters of South Park in Make Love, not Warcraft. L to R: Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny.

January 3 - Patch 1.9.0

• The Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj added
• The Temple of Ahn'Qiraj added
• Gates of Ahn'Qiraj event begins
• Faction-Linked Auction Houses (Previously each AH served only its capital city)

January - Blizzard comes under scrutiny by LGBT groups for prohibiting advertising a guild as being LGBT-friendly.

January 23 - Medivh-US becomes the first server to open the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj

February 5 - Draenei announced as the new Alliance race for The Burning Crusade expansion.

March 28 - Patch 1.10.0

• High-Level Armor Set Upgrade Questlines
• Quest Experience to Gold Conversion at Level 60
• Weather Effects
• Linked Flight paths
• Widescreen monitors supported

April - The "-50 DKP/More dots" Onyxia Wipe Animation becomes popular

April 30 - WoWRP is launched

June 20 - Patch 1.11.0

• Keyring
• Naxxramas added

June 26 - Wowhead launched

August 22 - Patch 1.12.0

• Cross-Realm Battlegrounds
• World PvP Objectives

Sepetember 22 - The game is brought up in an episode of Stargate: Atlantis

• A character says he has a level 75 mage, a level which was unattainable at the time (60 was the cap).

October

• World of Warcraft Trading Card Game released

October 4 - The TV show South Park features a Warcraft-themed episode, Make Love, not Warcraft

October 12 - The Burning Crusade Beta Test begins

November - World of Warcraft reaches 7.5 million subscribers

November 9 - Burning Crusade announced to be released on January 16, 2007

November 20 - One of the world's first well known World of Warcraft parodies, That's the World of Warcraft That You Play!, uploaded on YouTube by ibeckman671

December 5 - Patch 2.0.1

• Looking for Group Interface Tool
• PvP Arenas

December 14 - Burning Crusade cinematic trailer released

2007

The World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade login screen debuted with patch 2.0.1 and was the game login screen for 679 days. This was not quite the case for everyone, as players who had not yet bought the expansion still had the original login until they upgraded.

Sometime... - The Orc Statue was created.

January 9 - Patch 2.0.3

• Dark Portal Opens event
  • Kruul begins attacking places in Azeroth

January 16 - The Burning Crusade expansion released

• Level cap raised to 70
• Outland added
• Draenei and Blood Elf Races Added
• Shaman and Paladin now available to both factions (previously were Horde and Alliance specific, respectively)
• Eye of the Storm Battleground added
• Heroic mode instances introduced
• Launch was plagued by server crashes and a huge percentage of the player base questing in Hellfire Peninsula, all at the same time
• Expansion sells nearly 2.4 million copies in the first 24 hours, becoming the fastest-selling PC game ever

May 22 - Patch 2.1.0

• The Black Temple added

July 8 - Peggle: World of Warcraft Edition released

August 3–4 - BlizzCon

• Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Announced

September 27 - Patch 2.2.0

• Voice chat introduced

October

• On October 5, the game is brought up again on Stargate Atlantis
• Toyota's  [Four Wheels of Fury] commercial airs, featuring a fictional truck mount ingame
• On the American court show Judge Judy, Judith Sheindlin shows she has never heard of the game

November 13 - Patch 2.3.0

• Zul'Aman added
• Guild Banks
• Mudsprocket quest hub added to Dustwallow Marsh

November 20 - Blizzard advertises World of Warcraft on television with ads featuring William Shatner as a Shaman and most notably Mr. T talking about his Night Elf Mohawk

2008

In July 29, 2008 a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck near Blizzard's offices, causing them to post a message on their login screen about the effect on their in-game and telephone support.

The World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King login screen. This login screen debuted in patch 3.0.2. It is the second longest-running such screen for the game at, 770 days. As opposed to Burning Crusade, everyone was given this login, if they had the expansion or not. Some players did not care for the dragon roaring from this screen, giving them away to family when they tried to log in discreetly.

January - World of Warcraft reaches 10 million subscribers globally

March 25 - Patch 2.4.0

• Isle of Quel'Danas added
• Magister's Terrace added
• Sunwell Plateau added
• The Shattered Sun Offensive begins

April 3 - Proudmoore-US becomes the first server to complete the Shattered Sun Offensive

April 7 - The Daily Show plays a clip of Democratic US representative Jane Harman chiding another congressman (on an unknown date) saying:

"I actually suspect that the real reason we're here is so you can get some pointers on how to get past the seventh level of the World of Warcraft, but I do think you need to know that chairing this hearing is only worth two experience points."

June 30 - The original key-fob Authenticators first become available in the Blizzard Store. For the first few months the stocks sell out very quickly.

July 15 - Patch 2.4.3

• The point a player can first get Riding skill and use a mount lowered from level 40 to level 30

July 17 - Wrath of the Lich King Beta Test begins

August 5 - Recruit-A-Friend program introduced

August 6 - World of Warcraft launches in Russia, along with the Burning Crusade expansion

August 21 - Wrath of the Lich King cinematic released

September 15 - Wrath of the Lich King release date announced to be November 13, 2008

October - The "Additional instances cannot be launched" issue begins on high-population servers. This continues to be an intermittent problem until after the dungeon finder is introduced in patch 3.3.0, the next year.

October 14 - Patch 3.0.2

• Achievements (This is why you never see any achievements ingame dated before October 2008.)
• Inscription
• Barbershop
• Several changes were made to the gameworld to prepare for Wrath of the Lich King:
  • The original Naxxramas removed
  • Dalaran removed
  • Alliance boats rerouted
  • Stormwind Harbor added
  • New Horde Zeppelin Towers

October 23

• The Zombie Infestation heralds the start of the Second Scourge Invasion

October 25-26

• The Zombie Infestation becomes so rampant that the capital cities and many aspects of gameplay are rendered almost useless. This was intended by Blizzard, and was very similar to and probably inspired by the Corrupted Blood issue, back in 2005.
  • Players were affected by the plague, sometimes taking it into their raid groups and instance runs
  • NPCs were also affected, meaning no NPCs for repair, sales, auction house, quest turn-ins, etc
  • Many capital cities and small towns were littered with skeletons of dead characters

October 27

• The capital cities return to normal as the Zombie Infestation ends

September - World of Warcraft reaches 11 million subscribers

November - World of Warcraft commercials featuring Ozzy Osbourne

November 10

• The Scourge begin regular attacks on Stormwind City and Orgrimmar

November 13 - Wrath of the Lich King expansion released

• Level cap raised to 80
• Northrend added
• Death knight Class Added
• Strand of the Ancients Battleground added
• Expansion sells more than 2.8 million copies in the first 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time

November 23 - All players logging in are awarded  [Baby Blizzard Bear] and  WoW's 4th Anniversary

2009

"Game Fuel". Wild berry for Alliance, citrus cherry for Horde

During the countdown to the Battle.net merger, Blizzard offered a companion pet to accounts that merged before the deadline. (While getting an in-game pet has been fairly common since, this was a first to players at the time.)

Either by or in 2009 - the "Ghostcrawler promised me a pony" saying became popular on the forums and around WoW sites, but it's hard to pinpoint when

April 14 - Patch 3.1.0

• Ulduar added
• Argent Tournament added
• Dual Talent Specialization

April 16 - Blizzard announces that they are changing their Chinese licensee from The9 to NetEase

Late April - a player is banned for exploiting the game after using a mistakenly-mailed Game Master artifact called [Martin Fury]

May 15 - The Mountain Dew Game Fuel Choose Your Side promotion begins

• Complete with a commmercial showing an orc and a night elf duking it out PvP in a real supermarket.

June 6 - World of Warcraft shuts down in China

August 4 - Patch 3.2.0

• Crusaders' Coliseum added
• Isle of Conquest battleground added
• Instance Lock Extension
• The point a player can first get Riding skill and use a mount lowered from level 30 to level 20

August 20 - The Mountain Dew Choose Your Side promotion ends

• World of Warcraft: The Magazine announced.

August 21–22 - BlizzCon 2009

• Cataclysm Expansion Announced

September 2 - Faction Change service offered

September 19 - World of Warcraft relaunches in China under its new licensee, NetEase

September 22 - Patch 3.2.2

• Onyxia's Lair revamped to level 80

October 12 - Announcement that all World of Warcraft accounts must be merged with Battle.net accounts.

October 27 - Race Change service offered

November 11, 12 - The deadline passes for account mergers with Battle.net for US, EU players

November 22 - All players logging in are awarded  [Onyxian Whelpling] and  WoW's 5th Anniversary

December 8 - Patch 3.3.0

• Frozen Halls added
• Icecrown Citadel raid added
  • The Lower Spire is open at release
• Cross-Server Instance grouping
• Improved Dungeon Finder

2010

In China, bones are covered up as with this Forsaken. This led to the need for a massive graphical overhaul before Wrath of the Lich King could be approved.

Previously, you could not play the game until the entire patch was downloaded.

The Cataclysm Loading Screen debuted in Patch 4.0.3a, and was around for only 644 days - the shortest duration for a loading screen.

January 5 - The Plagueworks of Icecrown Citadel opens

January 19 - The Crimson Hall of Icecrown Citadel opens

February 2 - Patch 3.3.2

• The Frostwing Halls, the final wing of Icecrown Citadel, opens
• The Lich King encounter is implemented

February 12 - The People's Republic of China approves World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade for release, three years after its release everywhere else

March 23 - Patch 3.3.3

• The random battleground system is implemented, and the honor system is overhauled to account for the removal of battleground Marks of Honor

May 3 - The Friends & Family phase of the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm alpha begins

June 22 - Patch 3.3.5 in North America

• Real ID is implemented

June 30 - Cataclysm Beta Test begins. Patch 3.3.5 in Europe.

• The Ruby Sanctum opens

July 6 - Blizzard announces their intention to have Real ID names visible when posting on the official forums. This resulted in a massive outcry against the idea, based primarily on concerns about privacy issues and potential harassment.

July 9 - Due the overwhelming flood of criticism, Blizzard rescinds their plan to put Real ID names on the official forums

July 27 - Blizzard releases Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, notable in that it was Blizzard's first non-Warcraft related game in ten years, since 2000's Diablo II. Many were curious what the effect would be on the player base, but the implementation of the Real ID system ensured that players playing Starcraft could keep up with their friends in World of Warcraft.

August 10 - The People's Republic of China approves a heavily edited Wrath of the Lich King two years after its general release

September 7 - The first in-game events leading up into the Cataclysm Expansion begin, with Operation: Gnomeregan (Alliance) and Zalazane's Fall (Horde)

October - Wowpedia fork

October 4 - Cataclysm release date announced to be December 7, 2010

October 7 - World of Warcraft reaches 12 million players for the first time, and the all time record

October 12 - Patch 4.0.1

• Cataclysm Launcher Update
• Reforging
• Complete talent and ability overhaul for all classes
• Removed from game: Emblems, Badges, Marks of honor
  • Ammunition for ranged weapons removed from game (Yes, you once had to keep ammunition)

October 17 - All but one of WoWWiki's active administrators leave Wikia forming Wowpedia. Over the next couple weeks, most of the active users follow.

• World of Warcraft Cataclysm cinematic trailer released
  • Parts of the trailer were aired on television in the second quarter of the Dallas Cowboys/Minnesota Vikings football game on the same day. The commercial asked, "Where will you be when the Cataclysm begins?"

October 22-23 - BlizzCon 2010

• Announcement that Cataclysm will be available for direct digital download, rather than having to buy a DVD

November 1 - Elemental Unrest Phase 1 begins

November 8 - Elemental Unrest Phase 2 begins

November 12 - Elemental Unrest Phase 3 begins

November 15 - Elemental Unrest Phase 4 begins

November 23 - Patch 4.0.3a "The Shattering"

• Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor changed
• Specific Troll and Gnome starting areas
• New race/class combinations available
• Upper Blackrock Spire reworked into a 5 man dungeon
• Many American players spent this week torn between the Thanksgiving holiday and exploring the new Azeroth
• The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor fixed to allow for flying mounts.
  • The actual ability to fly in those two places was introduced in the Cataclysm expansion a few weeks later - however some players found you could at least explore using other methods which could fly like the Warlock ability [Eye of Kilrogg]

November 30 - All players logging in are awarded  WoW's 6th Anniversary

December - Thottbot merges with Wowhead

December 7 - World of Warcraft: Cataclysm released

• Level cap raised to 85
• Archaeology profession added
• Worgen and goblins races added
• Rather than introducing a new continent or world, several zones were added across Azeroth
  • Mount Hyjal and Uldum in Kalimdor
  • Vashj'ir, Tol Barad, Gilneas and the Twilight Highlands in the Eastern Kingdoms
  • Deepholm in the elemental plane of earth
• Expansion sells more than 3.3 million copies within 24 hours of release, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time

2011

The original Lightbringer realm server, cleaned up and engraved to be auctioned for charity in October-November of 2011

January 27 - Blizzard files complaints with the online service PayPal in an effort to make payment difficult for gold sellers.

February 8 - Patch 4.0.6

April 26 - Patch 4.1.0

• Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub return as level 85 5-player heroics

June 28 - Patch 4.2.0

• Firelands raid added
• Firelands Invasion daily quests added
•  [Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest] added
• The Burning Crusade offered to all players at no additional cost
• The 10-day Free Trial is replaced by the new unlimited-duration Starter Edition
• Keyring removed and keys made obsolete.

September 16 - World of Warcraft: The Magazine closes after five issues

• Subscribers were offered a refund or a collection of all six of the pets available from the Pet Store

October 13 - Blizzard announces it is auctioning off old server hardware for charity

• In the end, the project raised over $333,000 for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

October 21-22 - BlizzCon 2011

• Mists of Pandaria expansion announced
• Announcement that players who commit to a full year monthly subscription to World of Warcraft will receive:
  • A free copy of Diablo 3
  • A Tyrael mount
  • Guaranteed invitation to the Mists of Pandaria beta

November 20th - Players logging in awarded  WoW's 7th Anniversary and a  [Celebration Package]

November 29 - Patch 4.3.0

• Raid Finder
• Transmogrification
• Void Storage
• Darkmoon Faire moved to Darkmoon Island (Previously appeared in Elwynn Forest or Mulgore)
• The "Ghostcrawler promised me a pony" saying is immortalized ingame with the achievement  [I Was Promised a Pony].
• New instances and raid:
  • End Time added
  • Well of Eternity added
  • Hour of Twilight added
  • Dragon Soul raid added

December - World of Warcraft reaches 10.2 million subscribers, down from 12 million

2012

The Mists of Pandaria login screen debuted in patch 5.0.4, and is the longest-running login screen, running 777 days.

March - Scroll of Resurrection introduced

March 21 - Mists of Panderia Beta begins

July 25 - Release date announcement for Mists of Pandaria: September 25

August 28 - Patch 5.0.4

• Account-wide achievements, pets, and mounts
• The first Scenario is introduced: Theramore's Fall
• AOE Looting
• Cross-Realm Zones

September 7 - One of the world's most famous World of Warcraft parodies, That's the World of Warcraft That You Play!, comes out with a new version called That's the World of Warcraft That I Used To Play! that features Oxhorn, uploaded by ibeckman671 on YouTube

September 25 - Mists of Panderia released

• Level cap raised to 90
• The Continent of Pandaria
• Monk class
• Pandaren race, which can choose its faction

October 7 - World of Warcraft is hacked on some servers, and both players and NPCs die en masse. Blizzard quickly hotfixes this in a few hours and the issue is resolved.

November 18th - Players logging in awarded  WoW's 8th Anniversary and a  [Celebration Package]

November 27 - Patch 5.1.0

• The Pandaria Campaign begins with Operation: Shieldwall and the Dominance Offensive
• The Brawler's Guild is added
• Reset times for professions, holiday events, and daily quests are standardized across all realms, regardless of timezone
• Item upgrading introduced

December - An amusing glitch for some people lists Real ID and battletag friends as last being online "43 years ago". Who knew the game was so popular in 1969?

2013

The Battle.net Desktop App replaced the launcher.

March 5 - Patch 5.2

• Raid tier 15, Throne of Thunder
• Isle of Thunder daily content is added
• Tap to Faction introduced for world bosses and Isle of Thunder rares (except the one not part of the achievement)
• Item upgrading NPCs removed (temporarily)
• Championing a faction for rep in one dungeon and scenario a day added

May 21 - Patch 5.3

• Item upgrading NPCs re-added, but it is announced that the service will not be implemented for future PvP gear

July - World of Warcraft player numbers come down to 7.7 million subscribers, almost down to half of its record subscriber base of 12 million in December of 2010.

July 30 - One of the world's most famous World of Warcraft parodies, That's the World of Warcraft That You Play!, comes out with an updated version with Mists of Pandaria uploaded by ibeckman671 on YouTube

August 23 - It is announced that World of Warcraft Trading Card Game will end with Set 21, Timewalkers: Reign of Fire being the last set made.

September 10 - Patch 5.4

• Timeless Isle introduced
• Siege of Orgrimmar to bring down the warchief, Garrosh Hellscream
• Two full-sized Hearthstone game boards are added outside the shrines in Vale of Eternal Blossoms, with NPCs appearing to play the game

September 25 - The first Connected Realms are implemented

November 8-9 - BlizzCon 2013

• Warlords of Draenor expansion announced

November 18th - Players logging in awarded  WoW's 9th Anniversary and a  [Celebration Package]

November 27th - Longtime Lead Systems Designer for World of Warcraft, Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street announces he is leaving Blizzard Entertainment

December - World of Warcraft reaches 7.8 million subscribers, up from 7.7 million

December 9 - It is revealed that the United States NSA (National Security Agency) and the United Kingdom's GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) have been actively spying on MMORPGs, including World of Warcraft.

• It was revealed that a 2008 memo circulated at the NSA had called online gaming a "target-rich communications network" where terrorists could communicate "in plain sight."

December 10 - Patch 5.4.2

• For the first time, players gain the ability to buy mounts, pets and certain items at an In-Game Store, without having to go to the online Blizzard Store
• Cross-realm mailing for Bind to Account items implemented

2014

The Character Boost setup, step one.

A group of players gather at the Shrine of the Fallen Warrior to commemorate the passing of Robin Williams

The Warlords of Draenor login screen debuted in patch 6.0.2

The Iron Horde makes its mark on Times Square

The Iron Horde makes its mark in Shanghai, China

February 6th - World of Warcraft reaches 7.8 million players, up from 7.6 subscribers

February 10th - Blizzard Entertainment gets the street that runs between their buildings renamed "Blizzard Way", but the street sign is misprinted "Bizzard Way"

• This lead to a "bizzard" of amusing comments, with various game-related sites saying things like the sign should have been given more time on the Public Test Realm, to try the company's games like "Word of Warcraft" and "Diabo", or the sign was "obviously showing a lack of Spell power"

February 11th - Blizzard announces it is retiring the Scroll of Resurrection on February 18th.

February 18th - Patch 5.4.7

• Preparation for the upcoming Warlords of Draenor Collector's Edition
• The Scroll of Resurrection has retired

March 10th

• Pre-orders open for World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
• The Character Boost service is introduced, available to all with the latest expansion for $60/£40, with one Boost free as reward for pre-ordering Warlords of Draenor

March 11th - The  [Hearthsteed] mount is introduced as a promotion to mark the launch of Hearthstone

• The World of Warcraft mount is earned through winning 3 matches in Hearthstone, marking the first significant and rewarding cross-over between the two games

April 3- Warlords of Draenor internal alpha testing begins.

May 20 - Patch 5.4.8

• The maximum upgrade level for items is increased from +8 to +16.

June 4 - Warlords of Draenor friends and family alpha testing begins.

June 21 - The player Doubleagent becomes the first neutral pandaren character to reach level cap (90).

• He achieved this without ever leaving the starting area and only mining or picking herbs for experience points. He began in 2012, and his time played on reaching 90 was over 170 days.

June 27 - Warlords of Draenor enters beta testing.

July 4 - Blizzard releases some comical "extra footage" from the Mists of Pandaria cinematic, featuring the human and orc characters drinking in a tavern, supposedly shot "just moments after" the original cinematic's end.

August 12 - Following the death of comedian and actor Robin Williams, known to have himself been a player of World of Warcraft and Warcraft III, many players ask for an NPC to be created in his honour, with one player even creating a petition on Change.org, gathering more than 10,000 signatures in just 16 hours. On August 12th, following assurances from CM Celestalon and Williams fan Brian Holinka, the official World of Warcraft twitter account tweets ".@robinwilliams Thank you. You gave us so much joy in our lives, and we hope you enjoyed your time in our world. We’ll see you in-game." The message is widely taken as confirmation of the creation of an in-game tribute.

August 14 - Blizzard debuts the Warlords of Draenor cinematic at GamesCom, and announces a release date of November 13th.

October 8 - The last of the planned realm connections is completed, almost a year after the first realms were connected.

October 14 - Patch 6.0.2

• The Iron Horde invades Blasted Lands
• Unified Auction Houses for each realm, combining the previously separate Horde, Alliance and Neutral Auction Houses.
• New character models.
• The stat squish, a proportional reduction of many numbers in the game to bring them down to more manageable levels.
• Inventory updates including item sorting, the Toy Box, the Reagent Bank and a second Void Storage tab.
• Skirmishes are reintroduced.
• Guild advancement is removed.

November 7-8 - BlizzCon 2014

• This Blizzcon was short on World of Warcraft news with the new expansion so close. The main topic was instead Blizzard's new franchise, Overwatch.
• The movie "Looking for Group" was premiered.

November 11 - In anticipation of the release of Warlords of Draenor, a special feature is created in Times Square, New York.

• A New York taxi cab is placed with a gigantic Gorehowl embedded in its roof. A broken roof-top advert for Warlords of Draenor is found lying on the ground next to the cab, apparently split in half by the mighty axe's strike, while the side of the cab advertises "Flat fare Draenor" and "The Iron Horde is coming", as well as the date "11.13.14". The cab also bears the number plate WRCRFT and has the Iron Horde logo emblazoned on its hood. The area is cordoned off with tape that reads #Warlords and Warlords.com.

November 13 - World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor released

• Level cap raised to 100
• Draenor introduced
• The release is marred by a Distributed Denial of Service attack on Blizzard's servers.

November 13-16 - For the first time in several years many players experience queues to get into the game, some showing backups of thousands of players and hours of waiting. Debate on fansites are confused if this is due to Blizzard not having enough servers or a continuation of the DDoS attack. By Sunday the 16th, many of the problems were ironed out.

November 17 - Gorehowl crashes into Shanghai, China.

• Gorehowl is much bigger than the one in New York. The area is cordoned off with tape that reads www.wowchina.com.

November 19 - It is announced that Warlords of Draenor sold 3.3 million box copies (the majority of players had pre-ordered digitally) and the subscriber base was back up to 10 million.

November 21 - World of Warcraft turned 10 years old. Players are awarded  [WoW's 10th Anniversary], along with the  [Molten Corgi] battle pet.

• Temporary battleground: Tarren Mill vs Southshore
• Temporary raid: Molten Core, the Anniversary Edition

2015

January 30 - In an AOL restructuring eliminating less-profitable sites, WoW Insider closes up after nine years.

February 3 - The former writers of WoW Insider open Blizzard Watch.

February 24 - Patch 6.1.0

• Blood Elf character model updated
• Heirloom collections tab

June 23 - Patch 6.2.0 "Fury of Hellfire"

• Tanaan Jungle zone unlocked
• Garrison shipyards
• Hellfire Citadel raid

July 29 - In a break from tradition, Blizzard announces that the next expansion will be revealed at Gamescom 2015.

August 4 - Blizzard announces that subscriptions in the second quarter of 2015 dropped to 5.6 million in 8 months - the lowest since 2005 and the sharpest decline yet, but still posted "better than expected financial results".

August 6 - Blizzard announces World of Warcraft: Legion

September 1 - Patch 6.2.2

• Players who have completed  Draenor Pathfinder can now fly in Draenor after 9+ months of being grounded.

November 6-7 - BlizzCon 2015

• Previews of Legion content were covered at panels on the main stage and in the Darkmoon Faire area
  • World and content overview
  • Lore and story
  • Game systems
  • Main stage Q&A
  • Game systems Q&A

November 8-12 - Legion class previews

• Blog posts for the 11 extant classes were posted over the span of a few days

November 17 - Patch 6.2.3

• Cross-realm Mythic raiding
• Cataclysm Timewalking dungeons
• [Valor] and Item upgrading

November 23 - Legion Alpha begins

2016

The Legion login screen

February 8 - Blizzard's 25th Anniversary!

May 24 - Warcraft film premieres in Paris

June 10 - Warcraft film released in theaters

July 19 - Patch 7.0.3

• Legion Invasions of Azeroth
• Appearances feature added

August 30 World of Warcraft: Legion released

• Level cap raised to 110
• Broken Isles continent
• Demon hunter class added
• Artifact weapons added
• Class orders added

October 25 - Patch 7.1.0

• Return to Karazhan dungeon
• Trial of Valor raid
• Nighthold raid

November 4-5 - BlizzCon 2016

2017

Patch 7.3.0 - Shadows of Argus

January 10 - Patch 7.1.5

• Revamped Brawler's Guild returns with third season
• Mists of Pandaria Timewalking dungeons
• Micro holidays introduced

March 28 - Patch 7.2.0

• Broken Shore zone
• Cathedral of Eternal Night dungeon
• Tomb of Sargeras raid
• Wailing Critters pet battle scenario

June 17 - Patch 7.2.5

• The Deaths of Chromie scenario
• Black Temple Timewalking raid

A classic experience

August 29 - Patch 7.3.0

• Argus continent
• Seat of the Triumvirate dungeon
• Antorus, the Burning Throne raid
• Invasion Points added

November 3-4 - BlizzCon 2017

• World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth announced
• World of Warcraft: Classic announced

2018

Battle for Azeroth cover art

January 16 – Patch 7.3.5

• Zone scaling added to all pre-Legion zones and dungeons
• Silithus destroyed by Sargeras, landscape changed
• Ulduar Timewalking raid
• Seething Shore battleground

February 7 – Battle for Azeroth alpha testing officially started.

April 5 – Battle for Azeroth collector's edition revealed.

April 24 – Battle for Azeroth beta testing officially started.

Hellfest 2018

June 15 – World of Warcraft and metal music would reunite once again for the 13th edition of Hellfest from June 22-24. (Video)

August 14 – World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth released

• Level cap raised to 120
• Kul Tiras and Zandalar "continents"
• Allied races
• Warfronts added
• Island expeditions added

November 2-3 – BlizzCon

• World of Warcraft: Classic to be released in the summer of 2019.
• New charity pet:  [Whomper] with the proceeds go to Code.org.
• New cinematic: "Lost Honor" featuring Saurfang and Anduin.
• Kul Tiran humans and Zandalari trolls allied races were updated to show available classes and racials.
• Patch 8.1.0 is slated for release on December 11, 2018. The new raid will not open until early 2019.
• New in-game cinematic: Terror of Darkshore.
• Patch 8.1.5 will bring updates to the Darkmoon Faire, Brawler's Guild, Timewalking, Microholidays and more.
• Patch 8.2.0 - Rise of Azshara revealed
• Patch 8.2.5 will update goblin and worgen models.

December 11 – Patch 8.1.0 released

• Darkshore Warfront
• Battle of Dazar'alor and Crucible of Storms raids
• Continuation of the War Campaign
• Faction Assaults
• New Island Expeditions: Jorundall and Havenswood
• Dwarf and blood elf heritage armor
• Gnomeregan Pet Battle dungeon

2019

March 12 – Patch 8.1.5 released

• Crucible of Storms raid
• Kul Tiran human and Zandalari troll allied races
• Darkmoon Faire rollercoaster ride
• Children's Week update
• New Micro-holidays: Wanderer's Festival, Vashj'ir Diving Day, Free T-Shirt Day, etc.
• Warlords of Draenor Timewalking
• Portal rooms in Stormwind and Orgrimmar
• Tools of the Trade profession questlines
• Return of Brawler's Guild, including a new murder mystery questline
• Remastered Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin
• New PvP Brawl: AI Comp Stomp
• Battle for Wintergrasp Epic Battleground

June 25 – Patch 8.2.0 released

• Nazjatar zone
• Mechagon Island zone
• Operation: Mechagon mega-dungeon
• The Eternal Palace raid
• Azerite Essence abilities for the Heart of Azeroth
• The Robodrome arena
• Tauren and gnome heritage armor
• New Island Expeditions: Crestfall and Snowblossom Village
• Heroic difficulty for the Battle for Stromgarde Warfront
• Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part Two (flying is now available in Zandalar and Kul Tiras)
• Mount equipment slot and items
• Ashran Epic Battleground

August 27 – World of Warcraft: Classic released

• Experience World of Warcraft as it was back in 2004, based on patch 1.12.1.

September 24 – Patch 8.2.5

• Model update for goblin and worgen
• Recruit A Friend revamp
• WoW's 15th Anniversary
• Timewalking Raid: Firelands
• Party Sync
• Conclusion to the War Campaign
• Honeyback Hive faction and bee mount

November 1-2 – BlizzCon

• Warcraft 25th Anniversary and World of Warcraft's 15th Anniversary
• New charity pet: Dottie with the proceeds going to Make-A-Wish Foundation and WE.org.
• World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is the next expansion.
• World of Warcraft: Shadowlands features overview

November 12 – World of Warcraft: Classic phase 2 released

2020

January 14 – Patch 8.3.0 released

• Assaults in Uldum and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms
• New instanced content: Visions of N'Zoth
  • Horrific Visions in Stormwind and Orgrimmar
  • Lesser Visions in Uldum and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms
  • Titan Research Tree
  • Legendary Cloak
• Ny'alotha, the Waking City raid
• Mechagnome and vulpera allied races
• Worgen and goblin heritage armor
• Auction House revamp
• New story quests: Rise of N'Zoth
• Heroic difficulty Darkshore Warfront
• Battle for Azeroth Season 4

February 12 – World of Warcraft: Classic phase 3 released

March 10 – World of Warcraft: Classic phase 4 released

April 9 – World of Warcraft: Shadowlands alpha started

July 7 – World of Warcraft: Classic phase 5 released

July 15 – Shadowlands beta started

July 21 – Patch 8.3.7 released

October 13 – Patch 9.0.1 released

• Level squished
• Exile's Reach, new 1-10 starting experience
• Timewalking Campaigns
• New character customization options and interface
• Death Rising – Limited Time Event

November 17 – Patch 9.0.2 released

November 23/24 – World of Warcraft: Shadowlands released

• Shadowlands regions: Revendreth, Bastion, Ardenweald, Maldraxxus, The Maw

December 1 – World of Warcraft: Classic phase 6 released

2021

February 19-20 – BlizzConline

• The [Wandering Ancient] mount model was revealed just a few hours before BlizzConline.
• Patch 9.1.0: "Chains of Domination" announced.
  • "Kingsmourne" video
• Bananas and Daisy the Sloth as new charity pets
• World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic has been announced.

March 9 – Patch 9.0.5 released

June 1/2 – World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic released

June 29 – Patch 9.1.0 released

• Sanctum of Domination 10-boss raid
• Tazavesh, the Veiled Market 8-boss megadungeon
• New areas in the Maw
  • Korthia zone
  • Helgarde Keep subzone
• Torghast reworked, new layers added and new bonus floors: Adamant Vaults
• More Covenant Renown and rewards
  • Covenant-specific flying mounts
  • A cosmetic armor set per Covenant worn by any armor type
• Transmog each shoulder separately
• Unlock flying in Covenant zones

September 14 – World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic phase 2, Overlords of Outland, released

November 1 – WoW Community Council introduction

November 2 – Patch 9.1.5 released

• Legion Timewalking and the return of the Mage Tower
• Quality of life improvements
• The patch that renamed things.

November 16 – World of Warcraft: Classic Season of Mastery released

December 16 – World of Warcraft: Classic Season of Mastery phase 2 released

2022

January 17 – World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic phase 3 released

February 10 – World of Warcraft: Classic Season of Mastery phase 3 released

February 22 – Patch 9.2.0

• Zone: Zereth Mortis
• Faction: The Enlightened
• Raid: Sepulcher of the First Ones
• Return of class tier sets
• Mythic+ and PvP Season 3
• Dancing mini-game at the Darkmoon Faire
• New arenas: Maldraxxus Coliseum and Enigma Arena

March 3 – World of Warcraft: Classic Season of Mastery phase 4 released

March 22 – World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic phase 4 released

April 21 – World of Warcraft: Classic Season of Mastery phase 5 released

May 12 – World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic phase 5 released

May 31 – Patch 9.2.5

• Cross-Faction Instances
• New race-specific questlines for blood elves and Dark Iron dwarves.
• Dark ranger elf customization
• All Torghast wings are available at all times.

July 28 – World of Warcraft: Classic Season of Mastery phase 6 released

August 2 – Patch 9.2.5a

• Shadowlands Season 4
• Fated Raids

Soon

Things announced for release:

• September 26, 2022 – World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic release
• Dragonflight release

Videos

• The History of World of Warcraft (2001 - 2014)

External links

Blizzard Entertainment: Blizzard Timeline (1991-2012)