Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsWorld of Warcraft: Cataclysm targeted for a 2010 release date
by Adam Holisky 
Aug 23rd 2009 at 1:03PM
But this time, things are a little bit different.
WoW.com has been able to confirm that during a DirecTV interview, Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard, revealed that Cataclysm is targeted for a 2010 release date.
Now a targeted release date should be clearly understood for what it is. It is a date that Blizzard wants to ship their game, nothing more, nothing less. It means that they have a plan and schedule to get the game ready by then. But as everyone knows, long term schedules can and do change. Please limit the QQ if we don't see Cataclysm next year.
Interesting news nonetheless!
Filed under: Blizzard, News items, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)
Jonisjalopy Aug 24th 2009 10:34AM
This was my thought to when thinking it wasn't going to drop this summer.
They would have to compete with Hollywood and summer itself for peoples dollars and attention. Blizzard is smarter than that, and is most likely the reason all the other Xpacks have been Winter releases.
November does seem a bit long to wait with the end of the story being around the corner already. Maybe they will take the same approach with IC as they did ToC and release content in stages. If they did, they could ride this thing out as long as they wanted.
Bob Aug 24th 2009 10:51AM
Releasing content in stages is the same as what patches are in mmo's, so that won't happen. Or rather, its already happening...
Personally I don't think they will care if Cataclysm will be a summer release!
They will give us Starcraft 2 this winter in Q1.
Next winter we should be seing Diablo 3.
That is competition too, and more so important than any other competition from a Blizzard standpoint.
Not to mention Blizzard's already huge fanbase, and how you pretty much have to buy new expansion to really continue playing, it won't a be a problem for them to release in May.
I just feel pity on all the students who will have their exams shortly afterwards :)
Zuato Aug 24th 2009 3:04PM
Actually, a Summer release would be a good thing for Blizzard because historically that is when quite a few people leave the game. Having it drop in time for the Summer vacation should help keep their subscription rate up instead of having the usual seasonal drop they've been experiencing.
Did anyone notice some of the dates on the artwork for this expansion? Some of them go back to 2007 - I would bet this comes out by May/June of 2010.
Julie Aug 24th 2009 4:35PM
All signs point to an early expansion.
We know more about what's in patch 4.0 than what's in patch 3.3, and that's saying a lot. Blizzard generally plays this stuff close to vest to not spoil the surprise. When you see a full trailer though, or something like a completed matrix showing exactly what races can be which classes, this means Blizzard wants us to be ready. We are going to get smacked with these realities very soon (tm), and they don't want it to be a surprise (shock) when it drops.
James Riggs Aug 24th 2009 8:21AM
Everyone I know will be playing Star Wars by then.
/bye
epik.phailure.gamer Aug 26th 2009 9:58AM
Can I have your loot, gold, and other items please?
Dan Aug 24th 2009 5:57PM
Why is this in any way controversial? The time that elapsed between the announcement and launch of for both BC and WotLK was 15-16 months. On top of that, given the retail cycle, holiday 2010 is the most logical time for it to be released.
Dan Aug 24th 2009 7:05PM
To the people saying that Blizzard won't let that much time pass between content patches, look at history. Here are all the patches that introduced major new content (similar to Icecrown), and when they were released:
1.9 - 1/06
1.11 - 6/06 - 5 months later
2.0.1 - 12/06 - 6 months later
2.1 - 5/07 - 5 months later
2.3 - 11/07 - 6 months later
2.4 - 3/08 - 4 months later
3.0 - 10/08 - 7 months later
3.1 - 4/09 - 6 months later
3.2 - 8/09 - 5 months later
Unless Blizzard suddenly starts doing things differently than they have for the past 5 years, we probably have 5-7 months until patch 3.3, and another 6-9 months after that for 4.0. Blizzcon 2010 will likely be used to announce open beta for Cataclysm.
Michael Aug 24th 2009 4:34PM
There's three reasons why Cataclysm will likely be out this year, or early next year at the latest.
1. Developers have said they want one expansion per year. Cataclysm WILL be out sooner than BC and Wrath were as xpacs.
2. There is no way Blizzard will release patch 3.3 in november, and then not have any major content till the following november. But they have already said, patch 3.3 (Icecrown) is the last Wrath content patch. They really do not want a repeat of Sunwell; and these things have been scheduled years in advance.
3. STOR is coming out soon. It would be bad for business if that comes out, and WoW doesn't have anything to compete concurrently.
4. And this is my opinion personally, but it would be genius if Blizzard did it -- Blizzard wants PvE content to be more accessible. But obviously, Icecrown and the Lich King can't be push-overs either. So how do you solve this? Simple. You make the rewards in IC as good as the rewards in the first tier of Cataclysm raids. You make IC very hard for a group of level 80s. But -- make it moderately difficult for a group of level 85s. That way, when people hit level 85, they can basically run IC as a Naxx-level challenge and still get relevant gear. There you go. Something that is both hard AND accessible.
Laxzal Aug 25th 2009 2:14AM
Okay, correct me if I am wrong but is blizzcon next year going to be after November the 1st?
Probably not.
So did anyone listen to the panels? They said that by next blizzcon everyone will hate goblin rogues... Is that not hinting that it is going to be released before Blizzcon 2010? Yes it is.
And as well patch 3.3 should be out sometime November/December/January. I very much doubt Blizzard will not update the game for nearly a year with major patches. Also they did specify that Arthas is the last boss of Wrath of the Lich King.
epik.phailure.gamer Aug 26th 2009 9:58AM
You do raise a good point about that quote and goblin rogues.
I for one think it will be sooner than later, my proof? NONE.
Except for the facts that 3.3 will be that last content patch, and they are not going to wait 1 whole year for release on xpack.
Bossy Aug 25th 2009 3:45PM
Patch 3.2.2 Onyxia: Sep 2009.
Patch 3.3 End of Nov 2009.
Cataclysm 4.0 May 2010. (with Beta starting at the end of Jan).
SC Feb 2010 (with Beta starting in Oct).
come on Aug 26th 2009 1:26PM
omg yo people are dumb they release a expansion every 2 years! why are you guys acting so surprised?
Liam Aug 28th 2009 12:16PM
Hello? Its obvious ut will come out tomorrow DUH!!! Articpwnr aerie peak
Valshock Aug 30th 2009 11:34PM
since ICC is coming out in late november to x-mas i think the x-pack will come out april-may, but seeing that some guilds have trouble with naxx it could be later (no prob with me still trying to get full uld gear) like i could see a november release but i could see alot of ppl goin "WTF AM I SUPPOSED TO DO FOR 11 MONTHS" if its a november so november doesnt seem possible IMO
Vandalkilla Aug 31st 2009 1:39AM
I think a few things here are being overlooked or wrongfully misinterpruted
1) Ppl keep refering to how blizz has followed a no comments policy of realising an xpac every 2 years, and look how well thats turned out for them, they've lost subscribers due to long strung out waits, and poor quickly developed content to subside the pandemic of boredom
2) Also people stating that the 80-85 leveling gap wont take as long as blizz suggested are also incorrect, seeing as how they wouldnt waste their time developing an xpac if it wasnt gonna last players any longer than a year, and theyd have to keep struggling to release patches to keep players interested
3) And this is just a personal opinion but dont expect another xpac after cata, thats just bad for business because who wants to to purchase 1 vanilla and 3 xpacs? even if they are in battlechests. Its just an overload of content, and one hell of a mess that would progressively slow the output of more content.
IMO after cata...expect wow2
Norrell Sep 1st 2009 3:36AM
WoW2?! Are you insane? With a complete redesign of levels 1-60 content, what do you think Cataclysm is?!
Vandalkilla Sep 1st 2009 12:48PM
Its not a complete redesign by any means, thats a complete waste of time for blizzard and for players. Im not saying the game will only consist of subtle changes but even if they modify every zone in vanilla wow its still the core game, i dont really expect them to change every orginal quest in wow to fit with this expansion so basically its probably gonna end up being old wow with a few zone remodeling, a few new quests, and some redesigns for the old ones.
This is by no means equivalent to a "wow2" this is editing not creating essentially
Rob Sep 3rd 2009 10:45AM
Perhaps it's been commented on before, but I'll lay my thoughts out...
If you look at the time between the announcement dates and release dates of both TBC and WotLK, there are 15 months (going by month name, not actual days elapsed), both took about 15 months to be released following their announcement. While it's a safe bet that the 15 month timetable is a reasonable assumption (it looks as though that's precisely what GameStop is doing), there are a number of factors which set this expansion apart that bear consideration.
How many zones are getting overhauls? How extensive are those overhauls? How tricky will it then be to make each zone flyable as far as the "ceiling collision" we get from flying to high? How comparable is "5 levels of content zones plus revamped old world zones" versus "10 levels of new content zones"? What behind-the-scenes changes need to be put in place, infra-structure wise (new graphics engine mods, merge with battle.net and all that entails, etc), before the expansion can go live?
I think there are a number of questions that could make this expansion come... well, on a timetable other than 15 months. Potentially later, but I suspect sooner. Personally, and this is speculation at its purest, I suspect we won't see a summer release date (as awesome as that would be), but maybe juuuust before BlizzCon. Still, "complaining about goblin rogues by next BlizzCon" could be nothing more than an off-the-cuff remark, or as a previous poster pointed out, referring to the PTR. Somehow August or September, guesstimating how much reduced time you have for revamping zones already in place in the game, seems to fit when I think it over. *shrug*
Sean Sep 6th 2009 1:16PM
OMG youve got to be kinding me they arent going to relase the game until next year???!!?? Why would they want to do that? Im an 80 right now i im getting so bored of playing the lich king expansion. Besides theres too many alliance already and now they give the alliance the worgen race WTF? That just means more people are going to the alliance for the worgen. The goblins arent a cool new race they kinda suck. Im probaly going to stop playing wow before the game gets out! They have the game why dont they relase it this year on november 1st? Besides this game is pointless anyway, i mean like if you reach lvl 80 ,then what is it life changing? NO, wow could easly just send people into the game and ask everyone on each realm what they think sould be the release date sould be.