World of Warcraft: The War Within — Everything We Know

Blizzard Entertainment’s universally acclaimed MMORPG World of Warcraft isn’t all that far off from seeing in its next expansion—an introduction to a three-piece trilogy that will take its players deep into the underbelly of Azeroth, in which new races will finally come to light, and not to mention a web of new locales, enemies, and dungeons, too. And the best part is, it’s due to arrive on PC at some point in Q3 2024. So, if you haven’t swept all of those Dragonflight beats beneath the rug just yet, then you might want to start ironing out the final creases. The War Within is en route, and it’s bringing the weight of a full-fledged expansion with it.

If you did miss out on the initial announcement that aired earlier this week, then don’t sweat it — we’ve scraped together all of the details that Blizzard left out to dry. Here’s everything you need to know about World of Warcraft: The War Within.

What Is World of Warcraft: The War Within?

If you can just about remember that giant sword poking out of the surface in Sithilus, then you’ll be pleased to know that it wasn’t just a, well, giant sword poking out of the surface, but a sign of things to come in the future. As it turns out, The War Within will remove the core layers of Azeroth and peel back an entirely new subterranean layer—a realm in which new allied races will emerge, and new biomes will present themselves as uncharted voids to conquer.

To put it simply, The War Within will serve as the first of three parts in an all-new expansion pack, with the second and third chapters being Midnight, and The Last Titan, respectively. Rumor has it, this new series—the Worldsoul Saga, going by the book—will look to set a few records straight, and will also introduce a whole new campaign to embark on, which will of course include new raids, dungeons, and even a brand-new level cap. And that’s barely scratching the surface.

Story

The War Within will, of course, cast its focus on the long-forgotten civilization that looms beneath the surface of Azeroth. The story itself will feature both Thrall and Anduin Wrynn—two distant rivals who will essentially band together to tackle a common enemy — the Harbringer, otherwise known as Xal’atath, as she works to enact the Void’s original mission.

“Journey deep beneath the surface through the four expansive zones of Khaz Algar, the home of the titan-forged Earthen,” the blurb reads in part. “Start your adventure on the Isle of Dorn off the western shores of Kalimdor and descend into The Ringing Deeps. Then marvel at the brilliant sights of Hallowfall before plunging into Azj-Kahet, the high capital of nerubian society.”

Gameplay

Aside from the level cap being raised to 80, The War Within will also look to include several new pastime activities, including Delves—a series of dungeon-like instances that players will be able to tackle either alone or with up to four friends plus an NPC companion—and a new allied race, Earthen. The good news here is that, Alliance or Horde devotee, the newly established race will have the flexibility to choose which faction to join, so you needn’t worry about one side being given the “special” treatment, basically.

“Earn the trust of the Earthen and unlock an all-new playable Allied Race,” the game’s description adds. “Explore Delves, new bite-sized world instances you can tackle alone or with up to four friends, plus an NPC companion. Grow in strength as you level to 80 and earn new skills with Hero Talent trees, share progress across your family of characters with the Warbands system, and take to the skies with Dynamic Flying, now available for hundreds of existing mounts!”

New Dungeons

Development

Blizzard Entertainment first lifted the veil on its newest roadmap earlier this year, at which point the team also announced that it would be bringing the next expansion in the series to its alpha phase in “spring 2024.” In addition to this, the team also teased the covers for the three launch versions, which are Base, Heroic, and Epic.

The War Within will mark the first entry in a three-piece series, aptly titled the Worldsoul Saga. If all goes according to plan, then we should, with any luck, see the arrival of the first chapter in June 2024 at the very earliest.

Trailer

Thanks to Blizzard, we do have a bit of footage to share of the upcoming expansion. You can check out the latest announcement trailer of The War Within in the embed above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Going by the roadmap that Blizzard posted earlier this month, we can expect to see the upcoming expansion at some point between summer and fall, which means, really, it’ll be arriving between June and November 2024. Can’t wait that long? As luck would have it, World of Warcraft will also be receiving a slew of new updates and patches ahead of the next expansion. You can take a look at what’s to come over the next several months in the snapshot embedded above.

As far as launch editions go, The War Within will be available in one of three versions: Base, Heroic, and Epic. Here’s everything you can expect to find in each of the three editions:

Base Game

• World of Warcraft: The War Within 
• 500 Trader’s Tender
• Free Level 70 Boost

Heroic Edition

• World of Warcraft: The War Within
• Algarian Stormrider (Mount)
• Stormrider’s Attire Transmog Set
• 250 Trader’s Tender (750 in Total)

Epic Edition

• World of Warcraft: The War Within
• Algarian Stormrider (Mount)
• Stormrider’s Attire Transmog Set
• 250 Trader’s Tender (1,000 in Total)
• 3-Day Beta Access and Early Access
• 30 Days of Game Time
• Squally (Storm Hatchling Pet)
• Sandbox Storm Gryphon Toy
• Deepdweller’s Earthen Hearthstone Effect

Interested in staying up to date with World of Warcraft: The War Within? If so, then be sure to check in with the folks over at Blizzard for all the latest pre-launch updates via their official social handle here. If anything does change ahead of its 2024 release, then we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be gearing up to return to Azeroth when The War Within arrives on PC? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.