Developer Blizzard Entertainment held the Warcraft 30th Anniversary direct to celebrate all this Azeroth, Draenor, Argus, and more! During the lengthy livestream, the developers have revealed the future of Warcraft, introducing a plethora of exciting updates across various games and genres, including a few unexpected surprises.
First things first: free in-game goodies for watching streams! View any Warcraft, Hearthstone, or Warcraft Rumble stream on Twitch or TikTok to earn rewards between November 13 and December 11. You can get Blackrock Saber mount & Kaldorei War Wolf mount for WoW; special anniversary avatar, uncommon Sylvanas & 1 rare core for Warcraft Rumble; Perils in Paradise pack & Great Dark Beyond pack (one of each) for Hearthstone. Check out this page to learn more.
The Future of Warcraft RTS
It’s been 30 years since the debut of small strategy Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. Back then, no one could predict where it would all lead, and how many adventures would come as the result.
To celebrate, the developers have rolled out Warcraft III: Reforged – Patch 2.0. It overhauls environments, lighting, and the user interface. It also introduces uprezzed classic Warcraft III assets to HD. Additionally, the patch contains new quality-of-life improvements such as in-game hotkey customization, updated ladder, and much, much more.
But even that is not all: Blizzard also released fully remastered versions of Warcraft I and Warcraft II to take players beyond Orcs and Humans, beyond the Tides of Darkness, and beyond the Dark Portal anew again.
Hearthstone Receives Heroes of StarCraft – The Great Dark Beyond Mini-Set
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all in Hearthstone, from partying Medivh to Rastakhan’s Rumble, it’s time to go even further into the Great Dark Beyond! Early next year, Hearthstone players will be getting into Heroes of StaCraft, the special mini-set with 49 new cards across three themed factions.
Ever wanted to imagine was the StarCraft universe would look like in the Hearthstone Tavern? You will have your chance yet!
- Death Knight, Demon Hunter, Hunter, and Warlock have joined the Zerg! Led by the formidable Sarah Kerrigan, they will have aggressive cards that win the game by swarming the board.
- Druid, Mage, Priest, and Rogue fight for the Protoss Empire. Led by the High Templar Artanis, they will have powerful, high-cost cards that are made cheaper throughout the game.
- Paladin, Shaman, and Warrior make up the Terran forces, led by the one and only Jim Raynor. They will command Battlecruisers—a special take on the Starship mechanic from The Great Dark Beyond.
But that is not all! Shortly thereafter, the team opens the doors to the Underground Arena, before venturing Into the Emerald Dream for the first expansion of the year. Then, players will journey back into Un’Goro Crater to explore The Shrouded City, before concluding the year with a journey alongside Chromie through alternate realities in The Heroes of Time.
Celebrate One-Year of Warcraft Rumble
It’s been one year since miniature mobile tower defense experience Warcraft Rumble went live. To celebrate, players can log in to Warcraft Rumble and collect daily rewards, including new avatars and cosmetics!
In Season 10, the game will be re-introducing Sylvanas Windrunner as the first playable split Leader, honoring her allegiance to both the Horde and Undead families. Later, Malfurion Stormrage will join as Alliance and Cenarion, Orgrim Doomhammer as Horde and Blackrock, and last but not least, Anub’arak as Undead and Beast.
And the biggest rumbling news yet: Warcraft Rumble is coming to PC, with the beta launching on December 10.
World of Warcraft: Season of Discovery is Preparing for the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj
Currently in Season of Discovery, players are teaming up to defeat Ragnaros and Nefarian. It won’t be long until everyone can join the War Effort and open the gates to Ahn’Qiraj, where they’ll get to plunder the depths for new rewards and face new challenges.
After that, there will be one more phase focused on the dangers of Naxxramas, along with new instanced content featuring the Scarlet Crusade as well as adventures in Deadwind Pass!
World of Warcraft Classic – From Cataclysm to the Mists of Pandaria
In Cataclysm Classic, players are taking the fight to Ragnaros’ seat of power within the Firelands and working toward adding the Dragonwrath Staff to their collection. The Hour of Twilight approaches, with Dragon Soul raid dungeon arriving early next year.
However, there is also a new announcement to look forward to! Mists of Pandaria Classic will be arriving in the summer of 2025, taking players back to the shores of Pandaria and bringing its legendary class design, incredible raids and dungeons, stunning environments, and (of course) an unforgettable soundtrack.
“Relive the World of Warcraft Classic experience with all-new fresh realms in the WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Edition arriving November 21. Join players on a whole new journey to level 60, with the first raid dungeon, Molten Core, becoming available a few weeks after launch. Choose to play on a PvP realm, a Normal PvE realm, or (for the very first time) a Hardcore realm progressing through content with the other realms — all from the beginning, with fresh economies, on very large realms.”
World of Warcraft: The War Within (and beyond)
World of Warcraft: The War Within aka WoW Retail is soon to be updated with Siren Isle, currently available on the PTR. The Siren Isle introduces a new outdoor environment to explore, full of mysteries to uncover and rewards to help catch your alternate characters up and prepare for the next War Within season ahead.
Plunderstorm is also preparing for return, with a new Plunderstore to provide more flexibility for earning rewards instead of a linear Renown track. There are also some quality-of-life changes to spell interactions, the UI and more ahead.
Some other future updates include:
- The War Within Novella: Heartlands. Find out what happened with Jaina and Thrall after the Fall of Dalaran as they seek out reinforcements in this five-chapter special— available as read by Chris Metzen!
- Xal’atath’s trail leads adventurers to a location in our next major content update that has long been known about but, as yet, remained unexplored—the Undermine. You’ll arrive in an Undermine that’s in conflict between the four major goblin cartels, leading to new dungeon Operation: Floodgate and raid Liberation of Undermine.
“And yes, in World of Warcraft: Midnight, your next adventure begins at home. A house to call your very own. Stay tuned!”
