Blizzard Watch WeeklyJan 12, 2026 9:00 am CT

Blizzard Watch Weekly: Morchie take the wheel.. or, on second thought…

By Elizabeth Harper

We’re all still waking up from our holiday season slumber, with Blizzard starting to dole out new announcements for the new year. But the imminent news is news we already knew about: this month’s two WoW pre-patches, with The Burning Crusade Classic pre-patch coming to Anniversary realms on January 13 and the Midnight pre-patch coming to modern realms on January 20. TBC arrives with an astounding 24 hour maintenance for all Classic realms… so Classic players should get ready to take Tuesday off from gaming (and a good part of Wednesday).

That makes this a fairly busy month for WoW players, particularly if you tend to jump between Classic and modern game modes. But, frankly the best news of the month is Morchie arriving in Hearthstone, because you just can’t beat a time traveling evil twin story. (And she’s really making that blue hair work in this new art.)

And with that much going on, it can be tough to keep up. So here’s a recap of what happened last week, and a rundown of everything coming this week.

What happened last week?

Blizzard finally announced a launch date for The Burning Crusade Classic on Anniversary realms: February 5. If you don’t want to continue on to TBC, you need to transfer off immediately — free transfers are available through January 12, just before the pre-patch launches on January 13. Note that there are no Hardcore TBC realms, so current Hardcore players can either choose to continue as non-Hardcore characters or join a Classic era realm.
A new week means new Player Housing guides! Here are our latest housing posts:
We wrote a look at the lore of Diablo 4’s newest class, the Paladin, which is a unique Paladin order that we haven’t seen before.
The Midnight pre-patch launches on January 20, but the pre-patch event won’t start until January 27. We have a guide to the pre-patch event and its rewards, including the lucrative “Definitely Not a Cultist” title.
Hearthstone’s next miniset is Echoes of the Infinite, continuing the timey-wimey theme of Across the Timeways, including a new Morchie legendary. No release date on this one yet, but we’ll let you know when we get one.
This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl is Cloneball, an RNG-heavy Brawl that is nevertheless a great vehicle for completing those sometimes-tedious play X games with Y class quests. We have advice on how to get in and score a win.

What’s happening this week (and beyond)

Through January 12: Free character transfers are currently available from Classic anniversary realms to other Classic realms for players who don’t want to continue to The Burning Crusade, but you have to make the leap right now.
January 12: The Tower leaderboard system launches on Diablo 4 seasonal realms
January 13: The Burning Crusade Classic expansion pre-patch launches on the anniversary realms! This comes with some major maintenance, as Classic servers are scheduled to go offline at 3pm pacific on Tuesday and not come back up until 3pm pacific on Wednesday.
Through January 19: Legion Remix ends, so you’re really running out of time to collect rewards and achievements.
January 20: WoW’s Midnight pre-patch launches
January 27: The Midnight pre-patch event begins
Through January 31: Diablo 3’s Darkening of Tristram event is back for another year, giving you a chance to relive the joy (?) of original Diablo gameplay with a nostalgia trip through Tristram Cathedral. The event runs through January 31, so you have some time to enjoy this one!
February 5: The Burning Crusade Classic launches on Classic Anniversary realms.
Until they’re gone: BlizzCon 2026 tickets are on sale

Other things we’re playing, watching, and more

The holiday season is definitely over, as the Epic Games Store is back down to just one free game a week. This week’s freebie is Bloons TD 6, a kid-friendly classic.
We’re looking forward to the nostalgia-filled ThunderCats TTRPG, which is now live on Kickstarter.
This week in cute things to make you smile: baby cheetahs.