So with 9.2.5 still unreleased does that mean 9.3 is February or march 2022?

[Nyel]

wait, did you mean

„Expect the next expansion by the end of next year, aka Q4/22“

or did you mean

„Expect infos about the next expansion by the end of next year, aka Q4/22“

?

you not really expect to see

- first impressions of next xpac this year ?
- a next xpac beta starting after 9.2 ?
- a next xpac half year after 9.2 ?

do you mean that serious ???

I said expect the next expansion by the end of next year. I think it’s clear what I meant with that sentence.

[LordKharon]

Longtime lurker here, my "bestcase" guess:

9.1.5 this November followed by 9.2 info before christmas. 9.2 release Feb/March 2022. They started right after 9.1 was finished, so June 2021. Thats 8-9 month devcycle for 9.2, that should be long enough even for Blizz with their current problems...and thats it for Shadowblands, no 9.3.

New expansion will be announced at Blizzconline 2022, whenever that is, ideally after 9.2 is out. Release of the expansion late Nov 2022. Raiding starts Jan 2023.

I guess if they try for Q4/22 release then the changes to the usual expansion format will not be too big, there is simply to little time to scrap everything and start new. They can make it easier for themselves if they do less new systems and more normal content (real quests/questchains, more/better dailies). Hopefully they do 1 big story for all, not divide it into 4 like in Shadowlands. Make it longer and slow down leveling a bit...

[catalystical]

Trying to figure out the patch cadence here, given that I honestly thought 9.2.5 would have been out by now. But thinking positively, if it came out this month, that means 9.3 is three to four months off, right? so March, I guess? And presumably, that's the last patch until 10.0, which you would assume would be somewhere in the August/September range for next year? Just wondering what realistically to expect. Thanks!

We're still on track for 9.1.5 to be out in early/mid Nov. Then another 6 weeks of PTR for 9.2 and we will have the raid world first after the new year's break.

Assuming we're getting a 9.2.5 patch 6 weeks after that, which will be Feb/March 2022, then another 6 months of 10.0 Alpha and Beta, we'll see 10.0 pre-launch event in August/Sept 2022.

Or if the 9.2 PTR goes into 12 weeks (3 months), then push everything back by 2 months. Yea, either way, 9.3 seems highly unlikely.

[Sinaa]

I don't understand why people want to cancel 9.3 so much. Did you guys not pay for the same full expansion as me? Do you really think, that if they cancel 9.3 they would deliver a "ready" 10.0 next year? please

[Merin]

I mean... if you cut out all the bullshit like conduits, choreghast, renowned , garrisons, etc. There is a decent expansion suffocating underneath it all. Not a great expansion but a pretty ok one.

That's how I felt about Legion, once we got to the end and the locks came off it turned languished potential into a very solid expansion.

I don't feel that way about Shadowlands though. Maybe they'll pull it together by the end but I'm done playing charity with WoW. The fairweather moments are now constantly drowned out by the bleak.

I mean, Nathria was solid. Not amazing, had some problems but it was solid. I enjoyed it.

Literally everything else is a wash, IMO. There isn't a single great SL dungeon and the story has had its brains completely blown out. The few scraps of side content like Torghast and the Maw/Korthia are just absolutely fucking miserable. M+ is also in the worst state it's been in to date. WoW has been budget slashed, brain drained and bereft of any forward design for years.

The only bright moment we've had since MoP came at the expense of WoD getting killed off early. That may be what they have to do again here but I still doubt Activision will give the game the money it needs. WoW feels so amazingly low budget and cheap compared to almost any other MMO now, despite the fact that they only have painted on armor they still don't even make any most of the time anymore. Either there's embezzeling going on or this game is operating on a shoestring budget.

[Azerate]

I don't understand why people want to cancel 9.3 so much. Did you guys not pay for the same full expansion as me? Do you really think, that if they cancel 9.3 they would deliver a "ready" 10.0 next year? please

People on wow discussion sites like to pull theories out of their asses and randomly start treating them as objective truth. Despite it failing multiple times in the past (All legendaries being active in Legion, Removal of factions in BfA being some recent ones). It will be funny to watch as these theories finally fall flat and all the people who religiously believed in them start pretending they were never serious about them.

[Asrialol]

9.1.5 - November

9.2 - Summer 2022

10.0 - Spring 2023

- - - Updated - - -



God don't give them any ideas.

Here's an idea:

Release a World of Warcraft mobile game, kinda like Clash of Clans, where Zovaal dies once you reach the final campaign level. To get there within reasonable time however, you need to make some sweet In-app purchases to speed things up.

[WowIsDead64]

Trying to figure out the patch cadence here, given that I honestly thought 9.2.5 would have been out by now. But thinking positively, if it came out this month, that means 9.3 is three to four months off, right? so March, I guess? And presumably, that's the last patch until 10.0, which you would assume would be somewhere in the August/September range for next year? Just wondering what realistically to expect. Thanks!

First of all, stop confusing 9.1.5 with 9.2 or 9.2.5. This way we would avoid problems with understanding, that 9.3 will never happen.

Second. 9.1.5 isn't released yet and it's release date isn't known. 9.2 is definitely in development, but we can't start testing it till 9.1.5 release. So, more references Blizzard want to remove instead of releasing QOL improvements ASAP separately, further 9.1.5 release is delayed - further 9.2 release delayed too. If 9.1.5 won't be released in November, it's possible that 9.2 testing won't start till Feb/Mar. And 10.0 is delayed too. Q4 2022 - currently is the most optimistic release date.

[Kralljin]

I don't understand why people want to cancel 9.3 so much. Did you guys not pay for the same full expansion as me? Do you really think, that if they cancel 9.3 they would deliver a "ready" 10.0 next year? please

Disregarding that a lot of players simply ran afoul of Shadowlands, most things simply point towards a 9.3 not happening.

(1) Jailer will be highly likely dealt with in 9.2, as the story is quite clearly driving towards a finale.
9.3 would then have to be an epilogue patch, which is a hard sell if it intents to be a full fledged patch.

(2) Blizzard is utterly behind schedule.
If you assume a ~6month gap between each patch, you'd have 9.2 around Jan / Feb, which is getting less likely as time goes on, by the way.
For reference, 8.3 was announced mid October and came out in mid Jan.

With a full fledged 9.3, you'll have a timeline looking like this:
9.2: Feb 22
9.3: Aug 22
10.0: Mid 23 (10 month gaps between the last patch and an expansion is by no means unreasonable)

This timeline is simply not realistic, especially as Blizzard started to market the shit out of expansion releases in order to get massive sales early on, meaning they'll delay a massive income spike even further.

Think about this: If a full fledged 9.3 is happening, SL will likely be lasting for 2.5 years, far longer than any other expansion.

[Holdodlig]

Patch 9.2 was already reported to have been pushed back some due to the lawsuit and heavy shake-ups internally within the teams. We have absolutely no information on the patch cycle of Shadowlands. People that assume there will be no 9.3 patch on, in my opinion, are wrong. I don't see 10.0 launching until 2023.

10.0 will definitely launch in the late 2023 unless they cut a Shadowlands' patch. The expansion isn't even announced yet, like the 9.2 patch. I always count at least 8 month before alpha begins, then 4 to 6 month of alpha / beta. Would be a full year after the release of the trailer at best to see a release of the next expansion.

[Orwell7]

I JUST finished Death's Advance T6!
I didn't do rifts in the beginning for a few weeks, but damn, this took longer than Insane in the Membrane in Cata... what the actual fuck is with this content pacing?

Thank God the gold printing table pays for my sub+Bnet games, I will stay subbed and play with all my 3 245+ characters, because you know what? The dungeons, the rotations, gameplay IS fun right now!
We need more dungeons and raids, maybe more gameplay modes like non-timed-but-harder 5-mans, currencies that come from ALL content (like rep tabards) and can spend on a shitload of tmogs, appearances, mounts, even old-world ones,
HEY,
just make a "mount" tabard, where every "major" thing you do - kill a raid boss, finish a dungeon, etc. gives you 1 mount-gold, and 100 can buy you a random (hehe, its still Blizzard we're talking about) rare drop mount?

Ah there are lots and lots of great ideas but... but they HAVE to know better!

[LordKharon]

If the beancounters at ActiBlizz are ok with no big money from Blizz in 2022 (no WoW exp & even less subs, no D4?) then i guess it would be best to scrap what they have now and start new with all that they (hopefully finally) learned from Shadowlands. I dont see that happening. If they have to release in 2022 they need to finish Shadowlands asap to concentrate on 10.0 (and so no 9.3).

Best case is a Q4/22 expansion release with less systems and more (quest-) content. The "real" change will then come for 11.0...

[Bee76]

9.2 PTR opens next month, 9.2 launches Feb/March next year.

Hopefully not. I hope 9.2 will release early summer 2022. People who complain about "content-drought" may switch to another game or cancel sub for this time, but, i really hope blizz will release 9.2 late and good and not fast and rushed out.

[Niwes]

I said expect the next expansion by the end of next year. I think it’s clear what I meant with that sentence.

ok. thats imo crazy. its impossible. how should this work?

they have to announce next xpac in a few weeks then. also they have to start beta in march-may at latest, to have a release between oct22 and dec22, with a half year beta. this would mean, they have to release 9.1.5 in the next 1-2-3 weeks and announce 9.2 at the same time when they announce next xpac, to release 9.2 in early jan22 at latest, with 3-4 months before beta starts. all that NEVER will happen. never ever.

besides all that absurd timeframes, it would be the most rushed xpac in history. after the debacle of the last 2 (half finished) releases, you really think they rush the next xpac that much and throw the most unfinished product, in their history, on the market? in their actual situation ???

come on, are you serious? its totally impossible.

[Hastis]

Should be an online blizzcon sometime soon, i guess they will reveal 9.3 then with some date next year for launch.

there was already blizzconline this year so nope. 9.2 around march later gonna be 9.2.5 and 10.0 2023

[Niwes]

Hopefully not. I hope 9.2 will release early summer 2022. People who complain about "content-drought" may switch to another game or cancel sub for this time, but, i really hope blizz will release 9.2 late and good and not fast and rushed out.

look 2 posts above. @Nyel will have a talk to you, with a summer release of 9.2

[Dzonathan]

9.2 better have some Arthas redemption. I mean, the amount of eggs in Jainas ovaries diminish every single day.

We are getting very close to last call on that front, won't be long before the chance of having small princes and princesses running around in the halls of Lorderaon have vanished completely.

I am fairly sure small zombie princes and princesses will be coming from Calia and Derek.

[brinkber245]

that is not how software developement works and I have been in IT for 24 years...

Being in IT for 24 years is completely irrelevant to knowing how software development works. What an embarrassing thing to post

[Easyclassictopkeklel]

I guess you just confused the numbers?

We're waiting for 9.1.5 right now and yes, 9.2 (which you referred to as 9.3) might not be out until February 2022. Expect the next expansion by the end of next year, aka Q4/22. That's the most realistic take, I don't see a Q3 release as likely.

there is NO way we will get a new expansion in 2022.

[Kralljin]

there is NO way we will get a new expansion in 2022.

I mean, Execs will push for one, but assume the usual ~10 month content drought, they're going to cut it really close, because launching an expansion close to the holiday season will not go over well with the staff.