Blizzard is bringing back some classic World of Warcraft experiences next year with the announcement of official vanilla World of Warcraft servers as well as a new WoW expansion called Battle for Azeroth.
The launch of official vanilla or legacy servers will give new and old players a chance to somewhat experience World of Warcraft as it was back when it first launched in 2004 minus all the problems the game had back then. The announcement also deals with the company’s long-running problem of unofficial or private legacy servers. Blizzard has previously tried to deal with the problem through legal means and having unofficial or private legacy servers shut down but this latest announcement seems to be a more logical solution to the problem. Instead of trying to take down unofficial or private legacy servers, just provide official ones that give a better experience.
As for the new expansion, Battle for Azeroth, Blizzard is bringing back the classic storyline of the Alliance versus the Horde. The exact circumstances for the rekindling of the war between the two factions have yet to be made clear but the conflict will definitely force heroes new and old to once again fight for who will rule Azeroth. The new expansion will bring with it a slew of new features and content including the expected level cap increase to level 120, two new major areas called Zandalar and Kul Tiras, new playable races, new mechanics, new battlefields, new weapons and armor, and a whole lot more.
“Conflict is at the heart of the Warcraft saga, and in Battle for Azeroth, tensions that have been simmering for a long time escalate into all-out war. World of Warcraft players are incredibly passionate about the characters and factions they identify with in the game, and this expansion will make them prouder than ever to declare their allegiance to the Horde or to the Alliance,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.
Blizzard has yet to announce when the official vanilla World of Warcraft servers as well as the Battle for Azeroth expansion are scheduled for release but the latter is expected to come out sometime in 2018. In the meantime, you can watch the trailers for both above and below as well as a features overview for Battle for Azeroth: