Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsForum Post of the Day: Wrath release dates
by Amanda Dean 
Jun 9th 2008 at 2:54AM
We're all anxiously anticipating the announcement of a release date for Warth of the Lich King. Many of us speculate that the game will be released in November of this year. Many players have sent us tips about various retailers and their release dates. Lubu of EU-Burning Blade shared an email from the vendor with which he placed a preorder of the game:
Dear sir
Thank you for the following order placed with GAME.
As you may already be aware, the release date for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack has changed to Oct 2008. Changes to release dates are relatively common in the videogames industry and are unfortunately beyond our control.
Don't worry, your order is still live and will be despatched prior to its release date via your chosen method of delivery.
I just wanted to remind everyone that retailers have no more information than we do about the development of the game. Amazon.com lists November 30, 2008 as the release date for WoTLK, Game Stop's website says the game will ship on November 3, 2008. As mentioned in the order listed above, the date is subject to change. Online retailers usually put a release date up for preordered sales.
I suspect Blizzard will shoot for a November release, but we're more likely to see the game come out in early 2009. The preorders are usually trustworthy, but the dates are not. If you're like me and planning on taking some time off work to play the game, do not submit your PTO request until Blizzard gives an official date.
Thanks to all of our readers who have submitted release dates, we cannot post anything official until Blizzard makes an announcement. Rest assured that we will let you know as soon as the date is made public.
Filed under: Tips, Fan stuff, Expansions, Wrath of the Lich King, Forum Post of the Day
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
Draddog Jun 9th 2008 5:28AM
October would also coincide with Blizzcon. I'd think that Blizzard would want to have Wrath on shelves during the con to give them something to celebrate.
Badger Jun 9th 2008 10:06AM
Wait a minute. 'Draddog?' Is this the dude from Wizkids?
Draddog Jun 9th 2008 12:42PM
Formerly of WizKids, indeed.
Tridus Jun 9th 2008 5:48AM
God people are stupid.
Wrath has no release date. The stores are making one up in order to get the sale months in advance. Why would you bother pre-ordering months in advance anyway? Its not like there's going to be a shortage.
A store making up and then changing their made up release date shouldn't be enough to make it on WI. This happened all the time with BC.
Aracross Jun 9th 2008 6:13AM
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=3779160431&pageNo=2&sid=4#29
Which means for the non spanish talkers:
"For it being official, Blizzard must have it announced. And in that case, you can be sure you would know it at the forum or the official page.
Nevertheless, already it has been explained in other occasions, that the stores need to establish a date attempt to be able to accept reserves for a product, and that is what is happening now. If visits different stores, you will have different dates, because so far there is no official date for the launching of the expansion."
(Sorry for the bad translation)
Rydolomo Jun 9th 2008 6:38AM
Like BC I reckon it will be January 2009, it will get pushed to Christmas and cancelled because they're not ready with last minute bug fixes and so on.
Rydo.
Mera_LaCroisadeEcarlate Jun 9th 2008 6:42AM
Yes I think too, Christmas or later but not before. If that was October, with the S4 not yet released, I doubt they want to see it alive only for 2-3 months.
Enli Jun 9th 2008 8:00AM
It's all guesswork until the boxes are on the shelves. Blizzard has made it clear on countless occasions that they'll release a patch or an xpac when they're bloody well ready for it. And I applaud them for it.
My guess? I think Blizzard is aiming for a September/October release date, but it won't actually happen until November to give them time to fix more problems found in the beta.
In the mean time, there's plenty of fun to be had in TBC country.
Ikarus Jun 9th 2008 1:53PM
September would rock, but as there has yet to be a beta, i think thats a bit early. I'd guess late November (day after thanksgiving?). would be a very wise move with the looming holidays. however, knowing blizz, if they're not completely happy with it, they'll postpone it till early '09 (hope not)
Srevo Jun 9th 2008 9:44AM
The expansion is already being tested outside of Blizzard (even if it is just "friends and family" of Blizzard employees). It is time to start questioning Blizzards competence if we have more than six months still to wait.
Charlie Jun 9th 2008 9:50AM
So lets analyze what this is. I'm going to assume that GAME is a game distributor. That means its not officially from blizzard, and could either be their guess, or blizzard's guess.
Blizzard wont tell us a release date untill there sure they can get it out by that time, save delays. They haven't had many delays with wrath, so I see Oct being their prime date at the moment, but again there not sure, so it could move.
I'm still saying late november.
Eternalpayn Jun 9th 2008 10:04AM
I'm not too worried about when it comes out. The day it was announced I ran over and put 40 bucks down on a preorder, so I don't need to worry about it financially. That, and I figure as long as it's out after August my character will be 70 and I'll be ready for it.
Nati Jun 9th 2008 10:26AM
It will come out this year. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that would point to it being pushed back to 2009.
Mick Jun 9th 2008 11:09AM
"It will come out this year. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that would point to it being pushed back to 2009."
Are you kidding? What software developer are you talking about? Because Blizzard has set new standards for slow developement of content.
They just started alpha testing. They haven't even mentioned beta, and I wouldn't dream of a release until 3-4 months after beta starts. They beta tested Sunwell for 2 months and it was just 2 instances and some dailies.
Nati Jun 9th 2008 11:24AM
Mick, did you follow the TBC release? The Burning Crusade came out 5 months after the F&F Alpha started. Which would put us in... October.
Neil Jun 9th 2008 10:45AM
Blizzard is famous (infamous?) for saying "it'll be ready when it's ready." That in itself gives a possibility that it could pushed back to 2009 ... you never know, with Blizzard.
They have stated in their earnings estimate that WotLK is "scheduled to be released in the second half of 2008", which does give them a sense of obligation and timeline - but that said, I think Blizzard would rather release a good product late than a sketchy product early (Age of Conan, anyone?).
Just remember to get your ZA bear mounts while the getting's good :)
Rhys Jun 9th 2008 1:44PM
"Warth of the Lich King"?
Jagoex Jun 9th 2008 1:46PM
There is no question that the quality of development is questionable these days, what with the "an expansion a year" philosophy long past bleak and Arena season lengths varying from one to another. There definitely isn't much consistency in terms of how the game is playing out, that's for sure.
And while the customer base still remains strong, there is no doubt that the rate of new subscribers has slowed dramatically over the past month or so. Whether or not that has anything to do with the ban hammer hitting gold sellers is still up in the air.
In any case, all of this doomsday talk is nonsense. People that stop playing now for lack of content will return when Wrath is released. Those that don't probably will find something better to do with their time. It's the cycle of WoW -- not a whole lot new going on here. :)
Rich Smith Jun 9th 2008 5:03PM
Blizzard has said that 2.4 would be the last content patch till the expansion is released. If WotLK isn't released till January that would be 7 months without new content. Blizzard may be slow, but they're not stupid. My guess: Look for the expac on store shelves in mid-November.
I also predict a late Summer surprise by Blizzard announcing patch 2.5. Not only will it contain the lengthy world event (a la AQ War Effort) but also lots of new goodies to spend all the gold we've been accumulating from the daily quests.
Zeplar Jun 9th 2008 3:23PM
And there's the whole Brewfest kodo mount thing... they'll want WotLK out in time for that.
And, WoW subscriptions continue a steady trend upwards FYI; no, it's not as steep as it was on release day, but what the hell, there's 20 times more WoW subscribers than the next most popular MMO.