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

[psyquest]

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

I work in software developpement... Been a c++ dev for 7 years, project manager for another 7, currently a devops (look it up). Shut it and move on, you dont know what you are talking about, I do.

[Uvania]

sorry to break it to you but a new expansion will probably dont see the light of the day before maybe spring 2023 since this time around they have to make a new "legion" or "wotlk" to get people back into the game and since they are already way behind with shadowlands content i cant really see that happen in just approx 1 year time from now sadly.

[Puri]

Usually I am not such a doomsayer, but if 9.2 doesn't go on the PTR in the next four weeks and we have no realistical chance for new content for the holidays or maybe early spring I don't see it matters much anymore when it's going to release, as there won't be many players left to consume the content.

Imho to keep players hooked with 9.1.5 they urgently need to add incentives to play, even without adding new content. They could simply go the Legion way and increase the max itemlevel of m+ and the raid by 10, so it does not completely devaluate the current player power, but still adds some incentive to improve.

[Nyel]

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.

It can work easily if they don’t delay everything again. An announcement in February / March with beta starting shortly after can easily result in a Q4/22 release. Betas don’t last so long and even if it’s 6-7 months there is enough time between March 2022 (start of beta) and November 2022 (most likely month for release).

Nothing would be rushed and the schedule would work quite well:

9.1.5: early November 2021
9.2 announcement & PTR : mid November 2021
9.2 release: mid February 2022
10.0 announcement: end of February / March
10.0 pre patch: October 2022
10.0 release: November 2022

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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

There is just no need for 9.3. We don‘t need two more content patches to finish the Shadowlands story. And we for sure don’t need 9.3 which would result in Shadowlands becoming the longest running expansion with 2.5 years or even more. Without 9.3 Shadowlands can last for 2 years, which is the usual lifetime for expansions, and be done with by November 2022. By how poorly this expansion has been received, it would be the best solution for Blizzard and us players.

[Maljinwo]

If 9.1.5 is the last patch... so, what? Does Zovaal get defeated offscreen in a book?

Cairne flashbacks

[The Stormbringer]

Cairne flashbacks

Fucking Cairne, man. The fact that they killed him like that... it was such a fucking waste. Why the HELL didn't Thrall make him Warchief in the first place, instead of Garrosh? Jfc.

[Chakah]

There is just no need for 9.3. We don‘t need two more content patches to finish the Shadowlands story.

We don't know this. It all depends on the story of 9.2. Its like arguing that we don't need 7.3 (Argus) after raiding the Nighthold...

Given how Blizzard is likely making more money from RMT token sales than ever, I think the pressure of selling a $40 expansion is way, way down from what it used to be.

[btlcryct]

Nothing would be rushed and the schedule would work quite well:

9.1.5: early November 2021
9.2 announcement & PTR : mid November 2021
9.2 release: mid February 2022
10.0 announcement: end of February / March
10.0 pre patch: October 2022
10.0 release: November 2022

I think this is too aggressive. 9.1 went live 6/29. 9.1.5 was announced on 8/19, so about 6 weeks after 9.1. The PTR went up on 9/3, so a little over 2 months after 9.1. If we use 11/2 as the date for 9.1.5, which is the first Tuesday of November, and use the same timeframe, this means 9.2 would be announced around 12/14 and go live 12/28ish on the PTR. With that being in between Christmas and New Years, I highly doubt that date would be the date. So let's go with early January. Since 9.2 will presumably have a raid along with new content, unlike 9.1.5, I think 3-4 months on the PTR isn't out of the question. 9.1 was on the PTR two and half months (4/13-6/29) and that was before the whole lawsuit and company-wide changes that followed as a result. This would mean 9.2 would be released in the April-May timeframe. I wouldn't even be surprised if they consider 9.1.5 the last we hear until Blizzconline in February 2022 and that's when they announce 9.2 and announce it's on the PTR at that same time, or will be the following week.

I think realistically we're looking at late Spring/early Summer 2023 for 10.0.

[Accendor]

I think this is too aggressive. 9.1 went live 6/29. 9.1.5 was announced on 8/19, so about 6 weeks after 9.1. The PTR went up on 9/3, so a little over 2 months after 9.1. If we use 11/2 as the date for 9.1.5, which is the first Tuesday of November, and use the same timeframe, this means 9.2 would be announced around 12/14 and go live 12/28ish on the PTR. With that being in between Christmas and New Years, I highly doubt that date would be the date. So let's go with early January. Since 9.2 will presumably have a raid along with new content, unlike 9.1.5, I think 3-4 months on the PTR isn't out of the question. 9.1 was on the PTR two and half months (4/13-6/29) and that was before the whole lawsuit and company-wide changes that followed as a result. This would mean 9.2 would be released in the April-May timeframe. I wouldn't even be surprised if they consider 9.1.5 the last we hear until Blizzconline in February 2022 and that's when they announce 9.2 and announce it's on the PTR at that same time, or will be the following week.

I think realistically we're looking at late Spring/early Summer 2023 for 10.0.

This really, really sounds terrible, but also realistic.
The question is, how many people will be left at that point?

[Nyel]

[FONT=Verdana]

We don't know this. It all depends on the story of 9.2. Its like arguing that we don't need 7.3 (Argus) after raiding the Nighthold...

Given how Blizzard is likely making more money from RMT token sales than ever, I think the pressure of selling a $40 expansion is way, way down from what it used to be.

Selling expansions is by far the biggest income for Blizzard in regards of WoW. I mean their 24h sales amass to $150-200 million. You gotta sell a shitload of tokens for that. Plus, you sell the tokens anyway because with a new expansion you need the subs as well. And be sure that sub numbers right around an expansion are waaaaaaay higher than during an ongoing expansion, especially when it’s so poorly received like Shadowlands.

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I think this is too aggressive. 9.1 went live 6/29. 9.1.5 was announced on 8/19, so about 6 weeks after 9.1. The PTR went up on 9/3, so a little over 2 months after 9.1. If we use 11/2 as the date for 9.1.5, which is the first Tuesday of November, and use the same timeframe, this means 9.2 would be announced around 12/14 and go live 12/28ish on the PTR. With that being in between Christmas and New Years, I highly doubt that date would be the date. So let's go with early January. Since 9.2 will presumably have a raid along with new content, unlike 9.1.5, I think 3-4 months on the PTR isn't out of the question. 9.1 was on the PTR two and half months (4/13-6/29) and that was before the whole lawsuit and company-wide changes that followed as a result. This would mean 9.2 would be released in the April-May timeframe. I wouldn't even be surprised if they consider 9.1.5 the last we hear until Blizzconline in February 2022 and that's when they announce 9.2 and announce it's on the PTR at that same time, or will be the following week.

I think realistically we're looking at late Spring/early Summer 2023 for 10.0.

Your gaps are way too big. There’s no need to delay 9.2 announcement and PTR for so long. They can basically drop that the same day 9.1.5 goes live. We’re going to have the 9.2 PTR shortly after 9.1.5 and that will be in November. Setting up the PTR in December doesn’t make any sense as that’s the month where nothing will happen due to 2 weeks of holidays. So it’s either November or January for PTR.

Usual PTRs for big patches last for 12 weeks. Even if we consider 9.2 PTR goes live in January, we’d be looking at an April release then. But still there’s no need for such a major delay. That would make 9.1 a content patch that was live for 10 months - that would be an end-of-expansion-drought in the middle of an ongoing expansion.

[chorx]

Come on guys, seriously. With the pandemic, everybody working from home in their pajamas on top of the awful trauma of some of the guys a decade ago making cosby jokes (before we knew what he is)… how can you SERIOUSLY be demanding deadlines. Sheesh how entitled.

[btlcryct]

This really, really sounds terrible, but also realistic.
The question is, how many people will be left at that point?

Yea, it's not ideal by any means. But we're in uncharted territory, so we can really only use what we've seen so far from 9.0 to now. Previous expansion timeframes really have no bearing because they weren't influenced by a major pandenic/all the internal stuff Blizzard is going through.

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snip

I'd be happy to be wrong, but just trying to have a realistic approach to it. I don't think 9.2 being announced and the PTR going up the same time 9.1.5 is released is feasible, but I'd be happy to be wrong. I do think January has a better chance than November for the PTR for 9.2.

You have to figure from what we've seen of a lot of the recent updates to the PTR, they're more focused on the past by making changes to what they deem is offensive, rather than future content.

[vilememory]

Fucking Cairne, man. The fact that they killed him like that... it was such a fucking waste. Why the HELL didn't Thrall make him Warchief in the first place, instead of Garrosh? Jfc.

Because Thrall IC has severe daddy issues and is constantly looking for a father figure. He saw that in Grom, and by extension Garrosh. Who he saw as not Garrosh but a carbon copy of Grom who he thought would do the right thing despite not being his father. Writing-wise, I think they just wanted somebody in the position of Warchief that they could hit with a villain bat later on rather than creating an actual nuanced villain.

[Nyel]

Yea, it's not ideal by any means. But we're in uncharted territory, so we can really only use what we've seen so far from 9.0 to now. Previous expansion timeframes really have no bearing because they weren't influenced by a major pandenic/all the internal stuff Blizzard is going through.

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I'd be happy to be wrong, but just trying to have a realistic approach to it. I don't think 9.2 being announced and the PTR going up the same time 9.1.5 is released is feasible, but I'd be happy to be wrong.

Why not? They did something very similar with 8.2.5 and 8.3. It’s been two weeks apart in their case. I know Blizzard is struggling and everything is delayed etc, but they simply cannot leave this year on just 9.1.5 and hope for the best. 9.1.5 contains zero content or plot for Shadowlands. That’s just not enough.

[Al Gorefiend]

I think we will have another WoD cycle, with the next and (final) patch dealing with the Jailer.

Meh, but I will allow it since not **everything** was within Blizz's control.

I think BlizzConline 2022 will be next expansion details with final raid being delayed until after christmas like they tend to do. So probably a Jan/Feb final patch.

[btlcryct]

Like I said to Accendor, I would take every timeframe from before 9.0 and disregard it. Those didn't have to deal with Covid and the lawsuit/changes because of the lawsuit.

[Stevano]

Well, at the rate they're releasing patches, there won't be anyone left to play 9.2, lmao.

[Al Gorefiend]

Like I said to Accendor, I would take every timeframe from before 9.0 and disregard it. Those didn't have to deal with Covid and the lawsuit/changes because of the lawsuit.

True, we don't really know the full impact that may have had on development of the next expac, though if we're in for a content drought at least they're mildly forgiven.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Fucking Cairne, man. The fact that they killed him like that... it was such a fucking waste. Why the HELL didn't Thrall make him Warchief in the first place, instead of Garrosh? Jfc.

Because the plot demanded it, obviously.

[btlcryct]

True, we don't really know the full impact that may have had on development of the next expac, though if we're in for a content drought at least they're mildly forgiven.

Yup. I guess in my own mind, I'd rather prepare for the 9.2 PTR to be early 2022 and be pleasantly surprised if it is sooner, instead of set my expectations it'll be mid-November and then upset when November comes and goes and we still haven't heard anything.