Blizzard is building off the momentum of WoW Shadowlands with the upcoming release of World of Warcraft Burning Crusade for its Classic counterpart. Here’s everything you need to know from the global release date to getting into the beta.
Earlier in the week, The Burning Crusade Classic launch was leaked ahead of the company’s announcement. But only two days later, Blizzard are giving WoW players the complete lowdown of when they can return to Outland with a pre-patch date, a chance to opt-in to the beta, and more.
With the pre-patch of the Burning Crusade Classic, players will have the option to progress to the expansion servers or keep a clone in the new Classic Era realms. More on that below.
Every WoW update has seen millions of players clogging the queue so read down below of when you can expect to enter the next part of WoW Classic.
World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic release date
Like previously leaked, the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic expansion release date will hit the live servers on June 1 for most of the world.
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Of course, that’s only a general release time, and WoW fans need the exact hour it will be coming out so look down below for the simultaneous launch hour for every region.
| WoW Burning Crusade Classic global launch times | |
| Americas | June 1 – 3 PM PDT |
| Europe | June 1 – 11 PM CET |
| Taiwan | June 2 – 7 AM CST |
| Korea | June 2 – 8 AM KST |
| ANZ | June 2 – 10 AM AEDT |
| UTC | June 1 – 10 PM |
Burning Crusade Classic pre-patch
Every WoW Classic player is going to have a choice to make when the Burning Crusade Classic pre-expansion patch lands on May 18.
After the regional scheduled maintenance, each character will have to choose if they want to move on to Burning Crusade, move to a Classic Era realm, or use the character clone service to play in both games.
WoW Classic Era realms and character clones
The Burning Crusade Classic pre-patch is going to ask people to choose which path to choose, progress to the expansion or stay in Azeroth with the new realms.
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The first time a player logs in with a character after May 18, the game will ask them what gameplay experience they want.
If you choose the Burning Crusade Classic path, then everything including your realm, guild, etc. will remain intact. If you choose WoW Classic, then you will access a new game client on Battle.net’s desktop app to access your character who’s still in Azeroth.
“Realm names will remain the same for both Burning Crusade Classic and Classic Era realms and player characters will exist as they are before the pre-expansion patch on both era types.”
Blizzard is giving everyone one free clone to make their decision, but anyone can use their character on both servers by using a paid service to have their character on both realms.
Note: a set price for the cloning service has yet to be determined but Blizzard surveys have included prices ranging from $9.99 to $39.99.
Burning Crusade Classic beta
Anyone that wants to get into the action just a bit earlier can try their luck with getting into the WoW Burning Crusade Classic beta by simply opting in on the game’s site.
It’s not a guarantee that you’ll get access but at least you have a chance to get into Outland before Blizzard opens the gates to the live servers.
That’s the entire rundown of dates and info WoW players will need before the Burning Crusade Classic pre-patch lands on May 18, and official global launch on June 1.
