World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Collector's Edition cover art
Developer(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Director(s)Ion Hazzikostas
Producer(s)John Hight
SeriesWarcraft
Platform(s)Windows, macOS
ReleaseNovember 23, 2020
Genre(s)Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s)Multiplayer

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is the eighth expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Battle for Azeroth. It was announced and made available for preorder at BlizzCon on November 1, 2019.[1][2][3][4] Originally scheduled for release on October 27, 2020, its release was delayed until November 23, the sixteenth anniversary of the original game's release.[5][6]

The expansion opens up the Shadowlands, the realm of the dead in Warcraft lore.[3] It features the game's first "level squish" and a completely overhauled leveling system, access to the Death Knight class for the races that did not previously have access to it, Covenants in the new zones, and new dungeons and raids.[1][7]

On February 20, 2021, Chains of Domination (Patch 9.1) was announced. A new location, Korthia, was added to the Shadowlands.[8] Chains of Domination also released a new raid called "Sanctum of Domination" which features iconic World of Warcraft character Sylvanas Windrunner as the final boss.[9] The patch went live on June 29, 2021, for the US region, and on June 30 for EU.[10]

On February 22, 2022, Eternity's End (Patch 9.2) was released, including a new zone known as Zereth Mortis, home of the originators of all reality.[11] A new raid, "The Sepulcher of the First Ones", concluded the story of Shadowlands by having the expansion's main antagonist, Zovaal the Jailer, as its final boss.

  1. ^ a b Sirani, Jordan (November 1, 2019). "World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Expansion Announced at BlizzCon 2019 - IGN". IGN.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  2. ^ Marshall, Cass (November 1, 2019). "The next World of Warcraft expansion is Shadowlands". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Messner, Steven (November 1, 2019). "World of Warcraft new expansion revealed: Shadowlands". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Fahey, Mike (November 1, 2019). "The Next World Of Warcraft Expansion, Shadowlands, Takes Players Into The Afterlife". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  5. ^ "An Update on Shadowlands". Worldofwarcraft.com. October 1, 2020. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  6. ^ Kim, Matt (October 1, 2020). "World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Delayed". IGN. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  7. ^ Blizzard Entertainment (November 1, 2019). "Prepare to Cross Into the Realm of the Dead in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands". Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "BlizzCon 2021 Announcements and Reveals, From World of Warcraft to Diablo". IGN. February 20, 2021. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "WoW Chains of Domination release date: Shadowlands update time, new features, trailer, news". April 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Steven Messner (February 24, 2021). "Everything we know about World of Warcraft: Shadowlands' Chains of Domination update". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  11. ^ "Zereth Mortis Overview and Guide". Icy Veins. February 22, 2022. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.