Shadowlands Pre-Patch Release Date - October 13, Shadowlands Launch Delayed

[Daedius]

I see they brought back the Reputation Buff.

[Sanguinerd]

They can't have a pre-patch that'll last for 2 months so it probably will just launch in november.

Atleast.. one can fucking hope.

[Darkiguan]

Play classic....problem solved....

[Samuraijake]

Delayed. Was kinda expected.

and needed.

perfect time to enjoy
Hallows end
Zombie invasions
level 1-50 world
deal with the 3000 series graphic card supplies (im sure someone bought those just for wow)
other prepatch stuff
fix more bugs and get that tuning done

p.s. John Hight is actually solid and good hearted dude. So if he had to come out with the blue post, then i'd be willing to understand and can just calm down I usually dislike corporate snakes but I dont have that vibe with mah boy JH

[Kaver]

I am one of those who after 15+ years of Blizzard sticking to release dates is seriously surprised that they postponed this one. But I guess we should have expected it after they moved the WC remastered date.

And since Amazon with "New World" pushed the release...all bets are off now. Still hoping for a November release.

I just don't understand why they said october 26/27 in the first place. They release this date back on August 27. Why didn't they just say "Hey guys we are in a pandemic so we need some more time. Release in 2021. Bom! End of story"... There was really no need for them to say October 26/27. Most people were extremely surprised by those dates :P

[Gadzooks]

They aren't going to release the raid in the middle of the holidays, that's both christmas AND new years. I just don't see a dec release working in the slightest.

I said the last week of December OR the first week of January. Either would work. "They aren't" died as anything anyone has any credibility for as of today, when they did the biggest "they aren't" thing of them all.

[tyrlaan]

In case 75%+ of the complaints people already lob at Blizzard devs weren't ample enough evidence of this - almost all the bitching about the delay is a clear demonstration how clueless people are about how development and/or large scale projects work.

Don't get me wrong, I'm bummed out that it's delayed. But Blizzard willing to take this in the chin to spend more time on the expansion is a good thing. It is EXCEEDINGLY rare for companies to postpone things after a release date had been established, and it is never an easy or cost-free decision.

[Release]

Delay is dissappointing but not unexpected. What's annoying is them announcing it on October 1st so people don't unsub. That's pretty fucking shady in my eyes.

[oplawlz]

Eh, I doubt they'll fix how my class plays in this time, but better they release when ready rather than rush it. Sucks ass for all the people taking time off to line up with the release though...



Yup, definitely the case. They're completely unaffected by the pandemic going on, they just fired everyone but the janitors...

While I have no problem with the delay, and in fact applaud it . . .

The covid excuse is absolutely not a thing for software development. In fact beyond the initial delay from switching to work at home (which happened well before the release date for slands was announced) the software industry, including gaming, has been thriving where many other sectors have been throttled.

[munkeyinorbit]

correct, they are wrong no matter what. My analysis is accurate.

here is a simple version for you:

If you give me $10,000, I will sell you my truck at the end of the month. then at the end of the month ill change my mind and change the delivery time to some date before end of the year.

sounds fair right!

Absolutely fair if the buyer also has the right to refund. Not holding up your end of the contract doesn't mean it's broken if their is a renegotiation. That's what many countries around the world have. Let's say that SL is released 2021. Blizzard sets the date. What doesn't happen is everyone gets a refund and they have to create a new contract. Blizzard would offer a refund to finish the contract or the customers would accept the renegotiation of the contract. It's pretty simple if your default response isn't to create strawman arguments.

[Azadina]

There is an incredibly wide gulf between "they knew for a long time and have been lying" and "they just found out today"

Instead of putting words in my mouth, go work on a large scale project and understand how things work.

They just said they told us as soon as they could. Or is that just lying yet again? Because up until this point they've insisted on telling us that they are infact on schedule. Which is it then? They knew they were behind, and were lying to us about it, OR they magically found out today that they are not on schedule, despite having been up until today?

I'll pass on working on projects like you seem to, where lying is prized above working to make a deadline.

[Onikaroshi]

I said the last week of December OR the first week of January. Either would work. "They aren't" died as anything anyone has any credibility for as of today, when they did the biggest "they aren't" thing of them all.

Releasing the game during the holidays isn't that great of an idea either, they never have anything but a skeleton crew during that time.

[Gadzooks]

Agreed...I fully expect pre-patch to not last more than a month...so November release date is my guess.

The pre-patch is two patches now. Patch one is the new talents, leveling, and transmogs.

The second patch is the actual pre-patch content with the zombie invasion, and that's "at a later date" time now - so there won't be a any pre-patch burnout or having to change it.

I would bet right now, they don't know the dates of the zombie invasion, or the expansion release, past penciled in dates they want to reach. Again, they didn't delay the expansion for small tweaks and polishing. Right now certain teams are being tasked to figure out what they're gonna do, and how long it's gonna take. Otherwise they would have given a new release date.

[EyelessCrow]

Works for me, too damned busy on the old launch date.

[vitor210]

An Update on Shadowlands from Executive Producer John Hight
Blizzard has shared an update about Shadowlands. The Pre-Patch will be released on October 13, however the Shadowlands expansion will launch sometime later this year.

To the WoW community,

I wanted to let you know that we’re delaying the release of Shadowlands to later this year—and while we’re still in the process of determining the right new date to launch, we felt it was important to let you know about this change in plans as soon as we could. This was an incredibly difficult decision for the team, as we’re as eager to get the expansion into your hands as you are to play it—but ultimately, we feel it’s the right decision for the game—and for our players.

Over the past several months of testing, we’ve made significant progress iterating on and polishing the core features and gameplay of Shadowlands. We’re at a point where the zones, the campaign, the level-up questing experience, and the story we have to tell are essentially ready to share. We’re excited by the Covenants at the heart of the expansion, and it’s been a thrill to see Torghast take shape into a fun new kind of WoW experience, thanks in no small part to your input.

However, as everything started coming together and we’ve been listening to and building upon your feedback, it’s become clear we need a little more time for additional polish, and to balance and iterate on some interlocking pieces—particularly those related to the endgame. Shadowlands is one of the most intricate expansions we’ve yet created, and while we’ve made great progress, the challenge of tuning the endgame was compounded by the team having to work from home.

Blizzard has a commitment to quality. We believe Shadowlands will be something special, and we’ve heard from many of you who feel the same. We need this extra time to ensure that Shadowlands lives up to its full potential.

In the meantime, we’re excited to announce that beginning October 13 we will be releasing the Shadowlands pre-patch, which lays a lot of the groundwork for the expansion and includes our revamped character leveling, new-player experience on Exile’s Reach, and a host of new character customization options. And once we get closer to Shadowlands’ release, you’ll be called upon to defend Azeroth against a resurgence of the Scourge during our pre-launch event.

Thanks for your support and passion, and for your continued help and feedback as we head toward the finish line.

We’ll see you in the Shadowlands soon,

John Hight, Executive Producer of World of Warcraft

Ducking looool

[Terminatrix]

im actually shocked they did the right thing this time. every release from the past 16yrs were buggy and released anyway and patch up a few time after

[4justice]

if you dont listen players, you will fail in the end

[Gadzooks]

Releasing the game during the holidays isn't that great of an idea either, they never have anything but a skeleton crew during that time.

I don't disagree, but that's not set in stone, or something that can't change. They can require the teams to delay or shorten vacations, if necessary. This is a "all hands on deck" thing for the dev team.

I'm sure they don't prefer to have to be on call during the holidays to babysit the game for the inevitable release hotfixes, but this is all new territory here, because of covid. Bizarrely, a holiday release would probably be easier for them, as they're home anyway. The data center guys are the ones who would be most impacted.

[Stacie]

Glad about this, the game as it stands now on beta is total mess. It would put many off released in such a state.

[Zka]

Not even prepatch next week? What a fucking BS.