New expansion before christmas?

[Gothicshark]

Beta will probably start at Chrismas or January. Launch will probably go for around easter, if not earlier, but i doubt it.

Hearthstone beta started in Spring, it is still in Beta. I know everyone hates MoP but it has a year left in it. Since the beta for an Expansion lasts about a year.

[Wikko]

Anyone with a sense of marketing wouldnt be releasing an online game in the middle of a summer, so it's either before may or after august. Doesnt matter if it'd be ready next june, they would wait and launch it after summer

[Deleted]

No chance the game will go live before Christmas, but I think this expansion has had very good timing on patch releases and there for expect the new patch linking the expansion around Christmas and beta details brought up at blizzcon. For the guy that said beta lasts up to 8 months, no chance again. I personally expect by may latest we will have as live expansion.

[Molestron]

Before Christmas 2014, certainly not this year and April 2014 is too close.

On the other hand, teso and wildstar come out around april 2014 and Blizzard may want to do something to deter A LOT of players from just swinging by and remaining stuck in either one.

[Normie]

Beta will probably start at Chrismas or January. Launch will probably go for around easter, if not earlier, but i doubt it.

I was thinking end of the year plus or minus would be about the right time for open beta, then 3-4 months till the new expansion goes live.

[Soulless Cynic]

The shortest WoW expansion beta to date was just under 4 months from beta start to live release. Christmas is less than 2 months away and the next WoW expansion hasn't even been formally announced yet, let alone started its closed beta. In order for the OP's absurd prediction the be correct, the next expansion would have to release with little to no beta testing and would result in Siege of Orgrimmar being the shortest raid tier in WoW's history - both rather unlikely.

Even the most optimistic of realistic predictions would have a closed beta starting the second week of November, followed by roughly 4 months of testing and a release in mid March. Anything earlier than that is bordering on delusional.

[Normie]

Hearthstone beta started in Spring, it is still in Beta. I know everyone hates MoP but it has a year left in it. Since the beta for an Expansion lasts about a year.

yeahbut ... Hearthstone is a whole new game, and the beta initially was quite limited. For most people the beta just started a few weeks ago.

[velde046]

I believe there is a chance that immediately after announcement on Blizzcon, the friends and family alpha will start (or even may have). It is possible to the start beta in december (or late november if alpha testing is well on its way). 2-3 months of beta testing and then release february/march. SOunds feasible to me.
Likely? I can only hope. I do not think it it will be released later than may next year....

[laughtrey]

But what if there is no 5.5?

There's another pvp season, there's a 5.5

[Speedlance]

always a couple of months of beta beforehand, everybody knows this lol I don't think april but perhaps feb/march.

[Saevio]

There's another pvp season, there's a 5.5

There won't be another pvp season until next xpac. So regardless of if there is a patch 5.5 or not, the pvp season will have nothing to do with it. For a while now, the seasons have corresponded with major content patches. There won't be another major content patch until the next expansion.

[Armourboy]

At best early spring, my guess is either late spring or they wait til early fall.

[syar]

Is there a reason why blizzard never releases something during summer or close to summer? This always bugged me as I am aware that no expansion was released near those months, but I can't see a clear reason why not. I mean people go on holidays but thats for 1-2 weeks for most people and rest of the season spent working like usual. Also kids have a loads of time during summer.

[Drithien]

Blizz has often pointed out that they want 1 xpac a year released. It doesn't look like they will achieve that this time....Or will they?
How surprised would you be if, at blizzcon, they not only announced the next expansion, but also it's release date? of course it seems like a bit of a stretch, but maybe, just maybe.

So the last raiding tier of this expansion would be the shortest of this and every other expansion in the game, at the same time cutting off the progression of the vast majority of raiding guilds that are working either on the first heroic modes or even normal bosses, thus angering so many people? Not to mention the arena season. Or players that take their time to fill in goals/achievements from the past of the expansion during those last few months before the next expansion. Why would they be so stupid to shoot themselves in the foot like that?

[Deleted]

100% We will get 5.5 before christmas.

Orgrimmar need to be cleaned up before WInter Veil or there will be no christmas for horde.

[Arrowstormen]

Is there a reason why blizzard never releases something during summer or close to summer? This always bugged me as I am aware that no expansion was released near those months, but I can't see a clear reason why not. I mean people go on holidays but thats for 1-2 weeks for most people and rest of the season spent working like usual. Also kids have a loads of time during summer.

Because it's a horrible month for games. People take on vacation and stuff, it would be awful for the expansion to start while a big portion of the population have summer plans. June and July is no-no.

- - - Updated - - -

100% We will get 5.5 before christmas.

Orgrimmar need to be cleaned up before WInter Veil or there will be no christmas for horde.

I see nothing wrong with this.

[Treeba]

Is there a reason why blizzard never releases something during summer or close to summer? This always bugged me as I am aware that no expansion was released near those months, but I can't see a clear reason why not. I mean people go on holidays but thats for 1-2 weeks for most people and rest of the season spent working like usual. Also kids have a loads of time during summer.

D3? D2 Expansion was in the summer as well.

It has just been that their timing hasn't lined up with summer for WoW. They have 0 issue releasing it in the summer if that's when it's done

[Gothicshark]

Is there a reason why blizzard never releases something during summer or close to summer? This always bugged me as I am aware that no expansion was released near those months, but I can't see a clear reason why not. I mean people go on holidays but thats for 1-2 weeks for most people and rest of the season spent working like usual. Also kids have a loads of time during summer.

Blizzard is a Bit sentimental, Warcraft was released 23 November 1994, WOW was released 23 November 2004, that's 10 years later. if you look at all Warcraft release dates they are with in 6 weeks of 23 November.

What I expect is they will try and release every year after this next one, but they have a lot of work to get on that type of scheduled. This means Yes a 5.5, and a 5.6.

6.0 will release early, but none of the Expansion material will unlock until the 23 November. That is how they will do it.

[Deleted]

They had 25% of models completed by the time of gamescom. No way. April.

[Xeroz]

Blizz has often pointed out that they want 1 xpac a year released. It doesn't look like they will achieve that this time....Or will they?
How surprised would you be if, at blizzcon, they not only announced the next expansion, but also it's release date? of course it seems like a bit of a stretch, but maybe, just maybe.

why should they release before Xmas? Its not 1 year ago they released MoP