Through a statement published directly on the company's Twitter profile, Blizzard Entertainment announced the postponement of World Of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the new expansion of the famous title MMORPG. The delay would be due to some development problems, temporarily slowed down due to work in smart-working mode, one of the security measures used to counter the ongoing health emergency. At the moment, no new release date has been released for the expansion, but the studio has stated that Shadowlands will come out anyway before the end of the year, so fans won't have to wait long before they can get their hands on the title.
It was the executive producer John Hight to declare that the postponement of the release date was not an easy decision to take, but that unfortunately it is necessary to guarantee a good gaming experience for all players of World of Warcraft. Hight also said that the additional development time will allow the team to add further details to theendgame by Shadowlands. Despite the setback, the studio still has plans to release the Shadowlands pre-patch next time 13 October, which will lay the groundwork for the expansion to arrive.
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- World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) October 1, 2020
I wanted to let users know that we are postponing the release of World Of Warcraft: Shadowlands to the end of the year, and while we are still in the process of determining a new launch date, we felt it was important to inform the public of this change as soon as possible. This was an incredibly difficult decision for the development team, as we are really eager to release the expansion, but in the end we believe it is the right decision for the game and for our players. Over the past few months of testing, we've made significant progress in iterating and refining Shadowlands core features and gameplay. We are at a point where the areas, the countryside, the experience and the story we need to tell are essentially ready to be shared. We're excited about the expansion's Covenants and it's been a thrill to see Torghast take shape in a new kind of WoW experience, thanks in large part to your input. However, as everything started to change and we listened to audience feedback, it became clear that we need a little more time for further refinement and to balance and iterate on some interconnected pieces, especially those related to the endgame of the game. Shadowlands is one of the most complex expansions we've ever created, and while we've made great progress, the challenge of fine-tuning the endgame has been compounded by the fact that the team has to work from home. Blizzard has a commitment to quality. We believe Shadowlands will be something special and we know many of you feel the same way. We need this extra time to make sure Shadowlands lives up to its full potential. In the meantime, we're excited to announce that starting October 13, we'll be releasing the Shadowlands pre-patch, which lays many of the foundations for the expansion and includes our revamped character leveling, new player experience on Exile's Reach, and a host of new character customization options. And once we get closer to the release of Shadowlands, you will be called upon to defend Azeroth against the Scourge's rebirth during our pre-launch event.
