Blizzard unveils WoW Classic 2024 roadmap as Cataclysm draws near

Blizzard has dropped the roadmap for World of Warcraft’s release schedule in the first half of 2024, with Cataclysm Classic’s pre-patch confirmed for the Spring, and the full game arriving mid-year.

2024 is shaping up to be a big year for Blizzard’s World of Warcraft franchise, alongside the new expansion for its modern World of Warcraft title, the next installment of WoW Classic is also set to arrive.

A new roadmap outlines everything players can expect to see from Winter 2024 through to the Summer, when Cataclysm Classic is scheduled to arrive.

Blizzard officially announced Cataclysm Classic at Blizzcon this year to the excitement of fans, many of whom had been hoping to see a return to WoW’s third expansion.

Judging from the timeline, players will be able to join the open beta for the game from early next year.

Cataclysm Classic’s pre-patch event will begin toward the end of spring, giving players a chance to test out class/spec changes ahead of the launch.

Then post-launch, players can expect to see content drops for old dungeons like Zul’Gurub and the return of the Firelands instance when the Rise of the Zandalari and Rage of the Firelands patches drop.

Early next year will also see new content arrive for WoW Classic’s Wrath of the Lich King installment.

There’ll be more phases of the Seasons of Discovery adventures for players to sink their teeth into, and the arrival of Classic Hardcore’s Self Found mode.  

Hardcore Self Found mode provides an extra challenge for WoW Classic players on a separate server, where rules include permanent character death, and as the namesake implies, no trading of items — self found only.