WoW Classic Release Date Announced: Beta Testing Schedule, Reserve Your Character Name!

If you've been eagerly awaiting information on World of Warcraft's Classic release, then we have good news! It's going to be released officially on August 27th, 2019 worldwide. They are also going to be rolling out a small-scale closed beta test, so if you want to test it out prior to the release make sure you head to your Blizzard Account Management and opt into the beta.

If you have a specific name for your character you want to reserve, then character creation is being opened up on August 13th! If you have an active WoW subscription or game time on your account, you'll be able to created up to three characters per account. Check out all of the other official information below.

Mark your calendars: WoW Classic goes live worldwide August 27! Whether your battle cry is “For the Horde!” or “For the Alliance!”, there’s no shortage of adventure awaiting you in the vast continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms.

See below for details on the exact time you can log in and experience the origins of World of Warcraft.

Americas (PDT)	Europe (CEST)	Taiwan (CST)	Korea (KST)	ANZ (AEST)	UTC
3:00 p.m.	12:00 a.m.	6:00 a.m.	7:00 a.m.	8:00 a.m.	10:00 p.m.
August 26*	August 27	August 27	August 27	August 27	August 26

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Classic WoW Testing Schedule

Beginning May 15, select WoW players will be invited to participate in a small-scale, focused closed beta test. Players will also get a chance to help put our servers and technology through their paces in a series of stress tests running from May through July—you can opt in now through Account Management and select the WoW Classic beta. Subsequent stress tests will extend the opportunity to even more players. Level caps will also be in place to ensure we’re emphasizing the “stress” in “stress test”

—we want to push our tech to the limit, and that means a critical mass of players in close proximity.

Stress Test Schedule*

• Stress Test 1: Wed May 22–Thurs May 23
• Stress Test 2: Wed Jun 19– Thurs Jun 20
• Stress Test 3: Thurs Jul 18– Fri July 19

*Dates of each stress test are subject to change.

To fill our pool of beta and stress test participants, we’ll be choosing dedicated players who meet select criteria from both the WoW Classic beta opt-in and the standard Warcraft beta opt-in. Participants will also need to have an active subscription or active game time on their Battle.net Account. While opting-in to the beta is the primary way to make sure you’re in the running to join the test it doesn’t guarantee an invitation to the closed beta test. We may also consider additional factors such as how long a player has been subscribed to the game so that we have the right mix of players to ensure great feedback toward making WoW Classic the very best experience for the community.

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Create Your Character

If you’re eager to claim your character name in WoW Classic, take note: we’ll be opening character creation on Tuesday, August 13.^** Players with an active subscription or game time on their account will be able to create up to three characters per World of Warcraft account. We’ll have more information on realm names closer to launch, but rest assured—you’ll have plenty of time to figure out your plans for realm domination!

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*To align with other regions, the Americas will launch slightly ahead of August 27 in local time.
** To align with other regions, the Americas character creation will occur slightly ahead of August 13.

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