World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King pre-patch is live now

World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King pre-patch Questing Light Hopes
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

What you need to know

  • World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King pre-patch is now live. 
  • This means players can now build a Death Knight character.
  • Limited-time events will also be taking place in the leadup to the expansion's launch, including the Zombie Plague. 
  • World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King is launching on 

The next part of World of Warcraft Classic is on the way, and in the leadup, players can already start taking advantage of a handful of mechanics introduced a long time ago. 

The pre-patch for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is now live, allowing players to create a Death Knight Hero character and utilize the Inscription skill, both of which were first introduced with the original launch of Wrath of the Lich King years ago. You can see the pre-patch trailer for World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King below:

Some limited-time events will further build up to the Lich King's return, with an outbreak of zombies starting on Sep. 6, 2022. It'll get harder and harder for players to avoid infection up until the event ends on Sep. 13, 2022, when the full Scourge invasion begins. After that, players can look forward to the launch of World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King on Sep. 26, 2022.

For anyone that's also looking to what's next for the mainline experience, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is currently slated to launch at some point before the end of 2022. Taking players to the Dragon Isles and introducing the new Dracthyr race, a lot regarding this expansion is still shrouded in mystery. 

We'll have to see how it pans out, but based on a preview of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight from our Xbox editor and WoW veteran Jez Corden, it could end up being what the long-running MMORPG needs right now.

Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.