Blizzard has unveiled the complete roadmap for The Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary during the State of Azeroth broadcast on January 29, 2026. All four major content phases will arrive within a single calendar year, with the final Fury of the Sunwell phase expected before winter.
Phase 1 Launches February 5th
The Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary kicks off February 5th, 2026, reopening the Dark Portal and sending players back to Outland. Phase 1 delivers the full first tier of raid content alongside Arena Season 1.
The initial phase includes Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, and Magtheridon's Lair. Arena Season 1 starts immediately with the expansion launch.
Full Phase Schedule
Blizzard has committed to a quarterly release cadence. TBC Classic Anniversary will progress through its entire content lifecycle in roughly eight to nine months.
Phase 2 - Overlords of Outland (Spring 2026)
Phase 2 introduces the expansion's second raid tier. Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep: The Eye both open, featuring the Lady Vashj and Kael'thas Sunstrider encounters respectively.
Daily quest content arrives with the Ogri'la and Sha'tari Skyguard hubs. New profession recipes, the Druid Swift Flight Form quest chain, and Arena Season 2 round out the update.
Phase 3 - Black Temple (Summer 2026)
Summer 2026 brings the expansion's most anticipated raid content. The Battle for Mount Hyjal and The Black Temple both open, with the latter featuring the iconic Illidan Stormrage fight.
Netherwing daily quests and epic gem acquisition also arrive. Arena Season 3 begins.
Phase 3.5 - Gods of Zul'Aman (Autumn 2026)
A mid-phase release in autumn adds Zul'Aman, the 10-player troll raid famous for its timed bear mount run. Arena Season 4 kicks off alongside it.
Phase 4 - Fury of the Sunwell (Late Autumn/Winter 2026)
The final phase wraps up TBC Classic Anniversary before winter ends. Sunwell Plateau opens as the expansion's most challenging raid, and the Isle of Quel'Danas daily quest hub goes live.
PvP Accessibility Changes
Blizzard has made several adjustments to make Arena more accessible this time around.
Arena weapon rating requirements drop from 1,850 to 1,700. Blue PvP gear sets are now available through reputation while leveling, letting players pick up pieces from Honor Hold and Thrallmar on their way to 70. The team charter system is gone entirely, removing restrictions on who players can queue with. Same-faction battleground queuing returns to prevent long queue times.
These changes build on lessons from the original 2021 Burning Crusade Classic release, where the dev team showed willingness to prioritize player experience over historical accuracy.
Returning Features from 2021
Several popular changes from the first TBC Classic are confirmed to return.
Both factions get access to Seal of Blood and Seal of Vengeance, maintaining the balance improvements that worked well before. Players can exchange raid tier tokens for previous season Arena gear, giving PvE players a path into competitive play. Reputation-based honor gear arrives earlier in the content cycle.
Community Reaction - Timeline Concerns
The announcement has drawn mixed reactions. Many players are excited to return to Outland, but the compressed timeline has raised concerns.
The original Burning Crusade Classic ran for about 14 months before transitioning to Wrath of the Lich King Classic. The Anniversary edition cuts this to roughly eight or nine months.
Raid Difficulty Debate
All raid content will release in its post-nerf state. Some players have expressed disappointment, pointing out that even the original 2021 release featured launch-state encounters that many found surprisingly easy. Post-nerf versions will be even more forgiving.
Community members have suggested implementing optional heroic difficulty modes with pre-nerf tuning and slightly increased loot drops. This would let both audiences get what they want without forcing a compromise.
Gear Acquisition Worries
With 25-player raids dropping limited loot for large groups, the faster timeline creates concerns about gearing up before content becomes obsolete.
Mists of Pandaria Classic Updates
The State of Azeroth also confirmed continued progression for Mists of Pandaria Classic on the original progression servers.
Phase 4 - Escalation (Coming in Weeks)
The next major MoP Classic milestone arrives within weeks. It includes a new quest campaign advancing the Pandaria war storyline, a new battleground, new scenarios and heroic scenarios, the Challenge Cards system, new Brawler's Guild bosses, and continued legendary cloak questline progression.
Phase 5 - Siege of Orgrimmar (Later in 2026)
The final MoP Classic phase arrives later in the year. The Siege of Orgrimmar raid brings Garrosh Hellscream's story to its conclusion. Timeless Isle returns with all its exploration-focused content. Proving Grounds, PvP Season 4, and increased dungeon difficulty round out the update.
No Wrath Anniversary on the Roadmap
The 2026 roadmap makes no mention of Wrath of the Lich King Anniversary servers. TBC's Fury of the Sunwell marks the end of the announced content, leaving the future of Anniversary servers unclear.
This has fueled speculation about alternative directions for the Classic franchise after TBC wraps up.
Classic Plus Teaser at BlizzCon?
The most talked-about moment from the State of Azeroth came from WoW Classic Executive Producer Holly Longdale.
During the broadcast, Longdale said: "I can say with confidence that all Classic players across the globe have a lot to look forward to. I'm really excited to announce that..." before being interrupted. She added, "I guess we'll save that for later."
Combined with the missing Wrath servers, this has intensified speculation that Blizzard will announce a Classic Plus initiative at BlizzCon 2026 on September 12th.
Blizzard hasn't confirmed any Classic Plus plans. The teaser could just as easily refer to Wrath Anniversary servers or other unannounced content.
Titan Reforged Realms Launch in China
The broadcast confirmed Seasonal Titan Reforged Realms have launched for Classic WoW players in China. Blizzard acknowledged that player preferences differ between regions, stating these realms were created specifically based on how Chinese players engage with Classic content.
Looking Ahead to BlizzCon 2026
BlizzCon 2026 arrives in September, roughly seven months after TBC Classic Anniversary launches. Based on the roadmap, players should be progressing through Phase 3 Black Temple content when the event happens.
Blizzard indicated that more information about Classic's future direction will come at BlizzCon. The broadcast specifically noted that clarity on Anniversary server progression should arrive "after the release of The Black Temple, at BlizzCon 2026."
Key Dates Summary
| Phase | Content | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon, Arena Season 1 | February 5, 2026 |
| Phase 2 | Serpentshrine Cavern, Tempest Keep, Arena Season 2 | Spring 2026 |
| Phase 3 | Mount Hyjal, Black Temple, Arena Season 3 | Summer 2026 |
| Phase 3.5 | Zul'Aman, Arena Season 4 | Autumn 2026 |
| Phase 4 | Sunwell Plateau, Isle of Quel'Danas | Late Autumn/Winter 2026 |
TBC Classic Anniversary launches while the main World of Warcraft game prepares for Midnight in March 2026. Whether this Anniversary edition leads into further Classic content or stands as the definitive TBC re-release remains to be seen.
