The Burning Crusade Classic launches February 5 on Classic anniversary realms

World of Warcraft Classic anniversary realms will take the first step to becoming The Burning Crusade Classic anniversary realms when the TBC Classic pre-patch rolls out on January 13, 2026 and players will have about 3 weeks to prepare themselves before the actual TBC Classic expansion to launches on February 5, 2026!

The first time around in WoW Classic, the TBC Classic pre-patch launched on May 18, 2021 before the full expansion went live two weeks later on the June 1, 2021. Considering the original TBC pre-patch to launch window lasted about 5 weeks from December 5, 2006 to January 16, 2007, this was a pretty tight turnaround for a pre-patch that includes new two playable races, classes, and professions. While not quite the four weeks of the original TBC pre-patch in 2006, the extra week this time around is better overall than the two weeks in 2021.

Classic expansion pre-patch lengths have varied to different degrees: the Wrath of the Lich King Classic pre-patch to launch window ran for a month between August to September in 2022. At the end of 2022, both World of Warcraft teams began publishing roadmaps laying out when players could expect new phases content throughout the year. Over time, the cycle became clear in both games: expansion pre-patches generally last between 3-5 weeks, while new expansions phases would usually last for 8-10 weeks before a new phase would launch. In Classic specifically, the pre-patch durations were shorter for both Cataclysm Classic and Mists of Pandaria Classic, with both of them lasting 21 days.

There’s also the now question of how quickly the TBC Classic anniversary phases will roll out. The Classic anniversary realm phases had a bit more unpredictability when it came to release dates that we could also see in TBC Classic anniversary realms. Ultimately, a lot of this is guesswork and estimations, and hopefully Blizzard will share more information on what (and when) we can expect The Burning Crusade Classic anniversary realms and their Classic plans for the rest of 2026 now that the launch has been confirmed!

Originally published on January 5, 2026. Updated on January 7, 2026.