World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic release date and details

Burning Crusade Classic was officially revealed during the BlizzCon event in 2021. Classic WoW players saw this coming from a mile away, but it was a relief to see the announcement nonetheless. So, when does World of Warcraft’s Burning Crusade Classic release? Here’s what we know so far about WoW Classic’s first official expansion.

World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic Release Date

World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic officially launches on June 1, 2021, as per a Blizzard statement. The Burning Crusade Classic pre-patch begins on May 18, at which point each character must choose whether to advance to Burning Crusade or move to a Classic Era Realm, or a third option: to use the Character Clone service and play in both games. Here’s the official Burning Crusade Classic release schedule by region:

• Americas: June 1, 3:00 pm PDT
• Europe: June 1, 11:00 pm CET
• Taiwan: June 2, 7:00 am CST
• Korea: June 2, 8:00 am KST
• AZN: June 2, 10:00 am AEDT
• UTC: June 1, 10:00 pm UTC

A few changes are coming to TBC Classic, making the gameplay different from the original game we knew and loved fourteen years ago. Spellbatching is no longer a thing in TBC Classic, as most of the player base could agree that it, well, sucked. Another upcoming change is Paladin Seals: Seal of Blood and Seal of Vengeance. At level 70, Horde and Alliance Paladins will have access to the opposing faction’s seal. Finally, Arena team rosters are also changing, allowing teams to have twice the number of players in a bracket. 

When Burning Crusade launches, players have the option of moving to Burning Crusade or staying in Classic. Existing Classic servers will turn into progression servers that always stay up-to-date with the latest content. Players who want nothing to do with Burning Crusade can move to Classic Era servers, remaining in pre-TBC forever. A third option allows players to get the best of both worlds. For a small fee, players can copy their character to a Classic Era server, allowing you to have one copy on a progression server and another on a pre-expansion server. Finally, there’s also a paid option to purchase a level 58 boosted characters, for those players who don’t want to go through the leveling process from scratch. It can only be done once per account, excludes Blood Elf and Draenei races, and equips you with some dungeon-tier blues.

World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic Phases Release Dates

As per the official Burning Crusade site, here are the five phases releasing in Classic. These are subject to change.

• Phase One: Karazhan, Gruul’s Lair, Magtheridon’s Lair
• Phase Two: Serpentshrine Cavern, The Eye in Tempest Keep, Arena Season 1
• Phase Three: Mount Hyjal, the Black Temple, Arena Season 2
• Phase Four: Zul’Aman, Arena Season 3
• Phase Five: Sunwell Plateau, Arena Season 4

After these five phases roll out, what’s next for World of Warcraft Classic players? Well, we don’t have any official word yet, but Wraith of the Lich King Classic would be a no-brainer. Perhaps that will be the last Classic expansion we’ll see, but only time will tell.