Blizzard Announces World of Warcraft Classic Release Date

World of Warcraft Classic

It has been around 2 years now since Blizzard formally announced that a classic version of World of Warcraft was on the way and, call me crazy, but I’ve often had the feeling that this is something they really didn’t want to do. There was, after all, that now famous quote: “You think you do but you don’t.”

Well, if you have been eagerly waiting to try it out, then there’s good news for you! In a report via CNET, Blizzard has formally announced the date for the new (or should that be old?) classic release!

Beta Testing

While the game is not set to release until the 27th of August, Blizzard will be offering current subscribers the opportunity to apply to be part of the beta testing. There has, of course, been testing prior to this, but not in such a formal ‘pre-release‘ format.

The beta will open on May 15th and will comprise of 3 stress tests.

• Stress test 1: May 22–23
• Test 2: June 19–20
• Test 3: July 18–19

Presuming everything is looking good at this point, Blizzard will be set to finally release World of Warcraft Classic this August.

What Do We Think?

Personally, as much as I wish this was going to be a success, to me it has disaster written all over it! Not, incidentally, because of the concept, but the manner in which Blizzard is offering it.

Every indication still suggests that while Blizzard will essentially offer this game for free, it will only fall into that remit as part of a subscription package. One which would clearly (and by design primarily) include access to the latest version of World of Warcraft.

Now, I have long escaped the clutches of the latest WoW expansions. I could, however, have been tempted back to play the classic version. For £9.99 a month though?… Put simply Blizzard can shove it!

When this was first announced I said that Blizzard had to do one of two things. Either follow the ‘1 off fee’ format that Guild Wars implemented so successfully or give players an option for exclusive access to the game for a nominal £4.99 a month. I would have happily paid for this!

I don’t incidentally have a problem with it being thrown into the standard subscription price. In fact, if you’re still playing it, it’s actually not a bad deal. I personally, however, have absolutely ZERO interest in playing the latest version. I suspect many others feel this way too.

There’s still time for Blizzard to change and/or correct this, but I think that they’re going to stick to their guns here and, to me, that’s a huge mistake!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!