World of Warcraft and WoW Classic 2024 roadmaps reveal Cataclysm Classic beta test is coming this winter

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic - Deathwing the Destroyer art
(Image credit: Blizzard)

As 2023 rapidly draws to a close, Blizzard has shared its World of Warcaft and WoW Classic plans for 2024, which will include three more content updates before The War Within expansion arrives in late summer (or maybe early fall), and on the Classic side, a not-too-distant beta test for the upcoming Cataclysm Classic.

"In modern World of Warcraft, you’re going to see three more content updates for Dragonflight arriving before World of Warcraft: The War Within releases next year," executive producer Holly Longdale wrote. "In these updates, we’ll be wrapping up the story for this expansion and laying the foundation for our next one. Dragonflight Season 4 will revisit Dragonflight's dungeons and raids, along with outdoor content, featuring updated rewards, and a few new twists. Then, in the Spring/Summer, we’ll ask for your feedback when the War Within expansion alpha and beta tests drop."

Announced in November, The War Within is the first of three expansions in the Worldsoul Saga trilogy that will get underway once Dragonflight wraps up. It's set in the subterranean realm of Khaz Algar, and will introduce a new race of Horde-aligned dwarves called the Earthen. Alongside the new story, you can expect the usual upgrades from The War Within including an increased level cap and new zones, activities, hero talents, dungeons, and a new raid.

It's a pretty big deal, but the upcoming Cataclysm beta test for World of Warcraft Classic also promises to be very interesting. As we noted when Cataclysm Classic was announced, it was a very divisive expansion that literally changed World of Warcraft in some very fundamental ways—in fact, getting back to pre-Cataclysm days is one of the big reasons players wanted World of Warcraft Classic in the first place. That made the decision to bring Cataclysm to Classic something of a surprise, although Blizzard said later that fans seem to have mellowed on it a bit.

World of Warcraft 2024 roadmap

(Image credit: Blizzard)

World of Warcraft Classic 2024 roadmap

(Image credit: Blizzard)

A date for the Cataclysm Classic hasn't been announced but the roadmap indicates it's coming sometime this winter, and since it's already winter I have to assume that means it's not too terribly far off. For a shot at access—not a guarantee, but a "chance"—you can opt in at wowclassic.blizzard.com.

Update: I have been informed that it's not actually, technically winter until tomorrow, December 21. To which I say, I'm in Canada. It's winter.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
World of Warcraft The War Within screenshots
Dragonflight got WoW back on its feet, now we get to see if Blizzard can make the Worldsoul Saga run
Two goblins go for a joyride via the D.R.I.V.E system in World of Warcraft: The War Within.
WoW next big patch, Undermine(d), gets a release date, starting the countdown clock until my gaming time is entirely consumed with doing donuts in my new ride
A goblin stands proudly in front of her terrifying-looking machine of death in Undermine(d), the upcoming patch for World of Warcraft.
WoW promising 3 expansions with a bunch of roadmap deadlines has, paradoxically, helped its devs slow down and take their time: 'The team is really energized'
Diablo 4 screenshot
Diablo 4's second expansion won't be out until 2026
World of Warcraft's most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough
A mug that reads home sweet home sitting on a wooden table in front of a fireplace in World of Warcraft
Dataminers turn up potential details on WoW's upcoming player housing feature—from the Cataclysm Classic PTR, of all places
Latest in World of Warcraft
Concept art of WoW's upcoming player housing system, showing a warm homestead with a welcoming figure in shade.
WoW flexes its MMO player housing system in a new blog post, and it really might just beat FF14's dated furniture placement into the dirt
Gallywix wears an uneasy smile as he's confronted by Xal'atath in WoW: The War Within.
World of Warcraft guild uses exploits to get world 'first' on the game's new raid, gets banned, puts its name backwards and does it again
A World of Warcraft dwarf and human character standing in front of the entrance to a delve dungeon
WoW's nerfed its poor Delve companion into a dwarf-shaped crater after his tank spec made them too easy, and people aren't happy
Three goblins from the goblin cartels smile confidently in WoW: The War Within's Undermine(d) patch.
WoW's new Undermine(d) patch had a live jazz ensemble recording its big-band bangers, and they got to improvise: 'Usually those were the takes that ended up in the final version'
Two goblins go for a joyride via the D.R.I.V.E system in World of Warcraft: The War Within.
WoW's new DRIVE system probably won't be used outside of its GTA-style goblin zone, but devs are 'going to think about' recycling its parts elsewhere
World of Warcraft The War Within screenshots
Delves have given WoW's devs the confidence to put mandatory grinds firmly in the rear-view, says game director Ion Hazzikostas
Latest in News
Super Mario World
Super Nintendo consoles appear to be running ever-so-slightly faster as they age and speedrunning detectives are hot on the case
A photo of an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor surrounded by DDR5 memory sticks from Corsair, Kingston, and Lexar
Fresh leak suggests Intel's on-again-off-again Arrow Lake CPU refresh is back on the menu (boys)
A Colorful RTX 5080 and its box
Three lucky folks in India can win the dubious honour of buying an RTX 5080 GPU at Nvidia MSRP
The Facebook 'Like' emoji logo is seen in this photo illustration on 22 August, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Get ready to argue with your weird Uncle on Facebook again. Meta is rolling out its new fact checking solution to it's 190 million users in the United States
Gabe Newell in a Valve promotional video, on a yacht.
Go ahead and complain the discounts aren't as steep as they used to be, but Steam just had its biggest year ever for seasonal sales
Valve Steam Deck OLED handheld PC
'The future of hardware at Valve is bright': Valve celebrates the success of Steam Deck and Steam OS