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When did World of Warcraft come out?

Old enough to vote.

It's one of the longest-lived MMORPGs on the market. For years, World of Warcraft has reigned at or near the top of the once illustrious genre. The game has seen many ups and downs, lows and highs, and blistering moments where it flew too close to the sun. And time has a way of passing, usually much quicker than we would like. Some of us started WoW late in life whereas others have grown up with it. So, just how old is the game that defined a genre?

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How old is WoW?

At the time of this article, WoW is about to turn 18 years old. It was released in North America on November 23, 2004. Since then it has had nine expansions that have significantly increased the amount of content available by adding entire new continents, increased level caps, new races, new classes, and so much more. It's unreal to think that a game has run this long and that some have been playing it since it first became available.

Related: How Cross Realm play works in World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft Expansions

  • The Burning Crusade - January 2007
  • Wrath of the Lich King - November 2008
  • Cataclysm - December 2010
  • Mists of Pandaria - September 2012
  • Warlords of Draenor - November 2014
  • Legion - August 2016
  • Battle for Azeroth - August 2018
  • Shadowlands - November 2020
  • Dragonflight - November 2022

For more World of Warcraft goodies, check out Tips for players returning to World of Warcraft on Pro Game Guides.


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Author
Image of Christian Dawson
Christian Dawson
Christian has been playing games since he could hold a controller in the late 80s. He's been writing about them for nearly 15 years for both personal and professional outlets. Now he calls Pro Game Guides home where he worships at the altar of Destiny 2.