World of Warcraft Battle of Azeroth to Release Early for Certain Regions

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is the upcoming expansion for the longstanding MMORPG series from Blizzard and it’s proving to be one of the best ones yet. With allied races, tons of new zones to explore, highly requested changes to the game from fans, and a climax to a war that was thought never ending – the ultimate battle between the Horde and Alliance is going to be huge.

Though the game doesn’t come out until August, fans will be pleased to learn that the latest expansion will be coming a little earlier than expected … at least in America.

Before you get too excited, the difference in release isn’t astronomical. The game itself will be launching for all regions on August 14, with August 13th being the unlock date for Americans. The reason being is simple timezone math because for the firs time ever, the expansion is releasing everywhere at the exact same time.

The downside to this news is that many are worried we’ll see a repeat of the Warlords of Draenor fiasco back in 2014. Servers were incredibly overloaded when it first launched, making the game unplayable for many and it … it wasn’t fun.

Still … huzzah on an earlier release time! I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since vanilla so to see the Horde vs Alliance battle finally come to a head is a huge treat and one that I feel will really bring fans of the franchise together once more. Yes, even Alliance scum (kidding).

Game director Ion Hazzikostas recently sat down with Polygon to go over some of the questions fans have had about the new Warfronts and what exactly they mean for the title. What we learned was that they apparently were heavily influenced by the strategy game Warcraft 3 and will feature 20-player PvE missions with the characters at the helm of heroes leading the charge for the faction they’ve pledged their loyalty too. You’re going to hear a lot of “For the Horde” over here at WWG, just saying.

The director opened up a bit about one of the first missions that players can embark on called Stromgarde Keep, which will be available in the Arathi Highlands. For those that have been with this franchise since the vanilla days, this zone will be very familiar to you. The event will then launch with Horde vs Alliance until one of the factions has enough resources to kickstart a Warfront.

Seems pretty straightforward, and a really enjoyable PvE experience. The ultimate goal is to take control of the zone, which can then spur a counter Warfront for the ultimate revenge. The director also made it clear that winning a Warfront isn’t the only goal either, simply launching one will reap the benefits. Since there is no “failure state,” there’s no reason not to launch right in. Eventually, the zones will trade hands from faction to faction every 1-2 weeks, though we don’t have any clear idea what exactly the rewards will be for holding down a zone versus simply partaking.

“In Battle for Azeroth, the stakes for the Alliance and the Horde are incredibly high, and a player’s faction will have a more meaningful impact on their experience than in any World of Warcraft expansion to date,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Whether they’re journeying to unexplored lands to recruit allies or fighting to secure war resources, players will redefine what it truly means to be ‘For the Horde’ or ‘For the Alliance’ when the expansion arrives this August.”

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth begins August 14th – unless you’re in America!