The good, the bad, and the ugly: All ‘World of Warcraft’ expansions in order

Worldbuilding of Warcraft, more like. In its multi-decade run, the world of World of Warcraft has expanded drastically. Every year or two it seems like the realm gets an entirely new realm crammed onto it! Hell dimensions! Frozen wastelands! Here are all the expansions, in order.

The Burning Crudsade

Released January 16th, 2007, The Burning Crusade is the very first WoW expansion pack ever to hit the market, and boy howdy was it a good one. A raised level cap. Bigger raids. A battle against an inter-dimensional army of demons. Oh, and FLYING!? WoW went from being coffee-level addictive to cigarette-grade.

Wrath of the Lich King

Released November 13, 2008, Wrath of the Lich King may just be the greatest of all the WoW expansion packs. One could argue that this era was the “Golden Age of Warcraft.” Who doesn’t remember playing this absolute smash while listening to Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” in their basement?

Cataclysm

Released December 7, 2010, Cataclysm was a turning point for Warcraft. A turn 90 degrees downward. It was the Fall of the Warcraft Empire. As tragic as the Sack of Rome. It just wasn’t good, and the players suffered dearly. One hot mess.

Mists of Pandaria

On September 25, 2012, Mists of Pandaria pulled World of Warcraft back from the brink, but just barely. It was lampooned by players as a “you can’t be serious” expansion idea but has become more fondly regarded as time passed. Besides, there were many more expansion horrors to come.

Warlords of Draenor

Released November 13, 2016, Warlords of Draenor was pretty dope! Cleverly designed dungeons, high-octane raids, and a strong cast of new characters gave fans high hopes. Then Blizzard did what it does best, and crushed them. The new expansion just … stopped, like they gave up on it before it could get going. Tragic.

Legion

And then, on August 30, 2016, World of Warcraft bought us all flowers and made up for everything. Legion was LIT. There’s an argument to be made that it rivals, nay, surpasses the glory that was Wrath of the Lich King.

Battle for Azeroth

Released August 13, 2018, Battle for Azeroth was… alright? It wasn’t bad, per se. It just wasn’t all that good either. It was vanilla ice cream. Plain cheese pizza. You’ll eat it cause it’s there, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Shadowlands

Released November 23, 2020, Shadowlands was not an expansion to World of Warcraft, it was a crime against humanity.

Dragonflight

On November 18, 2022, Dragonflight tried to rebuild the shattered pieces of World of Warcraft that Shadowlands destroyed. While some players were willing to give the newest expansion a chance, others decided to turn their backs on the Blizzard that left them cold.

The War Within

Released August 26, 2024, it’s too early to tell with The War Within. Will the currently-in-beta game be World of Warcraft‘s salvation or the final nail in the coffin? We shall see.