World of Warcraft: Dragonflight will be out later this year

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard announced today that Dragonflight, the ninth expansion to the long-running MMO World of Warcraft, is available for pre-purchase now—and, more importantly, will be out later this year.

Announced in April, Dragonflight—as the title suggests—brings dragons to WoW via a journey to the nigh-mythical Dragon Isles. Players will discover the history of the ancient dragons and their kingdom, learn what's happened to them over the past 10,000 years, and ultimately attempt to forge alliances with them in order to combat new threats to the realm.

From a more practical gameplay perspective, Dragonflight will add four new zones—the vibrant Waking Shores, the verdant Ohn’ahran Plains, the sprawling Azure Span, and the resplendent Thaldraszus—with a new system for getting around in the skies called Dragonriding, a new playable race called the Dracthyr, and an increased level cap of 70. There will also be an "extensive overhaul" of WoW's talent system, updates to in-game professions, and changes to the HUD and UI.

"We are thrilled to share that we’ll be bringing our next expansion to players later this year," executive producer Holly Longdale said. "Dragonflight is a return to Azeroth, and the freedom and exploration that World of Warcraft is known for. This is your chance to get up close and personal with the rich history of the storied Dragon Isles, and to immerse yourself in the high-fantasy at the core of the Warcraft universe."

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Dragonflight is available for pre-purchase in three editions priced at $50, $70, and $90, with different bonuses for each, as well as in a boxed Collector's Set that sells for $130 and includes various bits of physical tat along with all the digital goodies. A solid release date hasn't been set yet but based on the release timings of previous expansions, and the fact that we really didn't expect Dragonflight to arrive until sometime in early 2023, I'd say the great likelihood is that it'll roll out not too long before the holiday season. While you wait for that to happen, you can get a closer look at the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight expansion at dragonflight.blizzard.com.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.