WoW’s next chapter, The Worldsoul Saga: All expansions, storylines, and potential release dates

A new chapter of the WoW franchise is coming real soon.

WoW character Xal'atath in her humanoid form, staring directly into the camera with glowing purple eyes
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

In a momentous reveal, Blizzard Entertainment announced all three of the next expansions for World of Warcraft on Nov. 3, placing all of them into a definitive chapter of the franchise known as The Worldsoul Saga.

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This new vision for WoW comes as the game nears its 20th anniversary and will create a game plan for WoW players as the title continues to evolve into its third decade. The three expansions in the Worldsoul Saga will be called The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan, and each of them will feature an interwoven narrative that defines the next era of WoW

Although we’re still some time out from the launch of even the first of these three expansions, Blizzard still indulged the fans today and laid out a significant roadmap for what’s next in the WoW universe

Why WoW is planning out its next three expansions at once

As World of Warcraft enters its 20th year, the future of the game will be taking some massive strides. The biggest of those strides comes in the form of The Worldsoul Saga, which is more than just a single expansion; it’s three expansions tied into one major chapter of the Warcraft franchise.

The narrative of World of Warcraft will be connected across the next three expansions, so it makes sense for all three of them to be announced at the same time. In years past, it’s been a bit of a guessing game going into upcoming expansions as fans have often wondered if they’d be getting a continuous story upon the launch of a new expansion or if the new adventure would be completely unrelated to the previous one. 

With The Worldsoul Saga, though, it’s pretty evident each of the expansions in the new trilogy will be related to the last one, and the first of those expansions, The War Within, will have ties to previous expansions, such as Battle for Azeroth and Dragonflight

All expansions in WoW: The Worldsoul Saga

Metzen revealing Worldsoul Saga at Blizzcon 2023
Big things are happening in the WoW universe. Screenshot by Dot Esports via Blizzard Entertainment

The Worldsoul Saga will feature three expansions: The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan. All three of these expansions will feature an interwoven narrative that connects across the three eras of the game. Unlike previous expansions, where storylines and features were fragmented and separated, this next chapter of WoW will be a seamless experience.

World of Warcraft: The War Within (Coming 2024)

  • An expansion that dives into Azeroth’s underground regions in an attempt to save its heart.
  • Players will adventure alongside heroes such as Anduin, Alleria, and others in an effort to finally deal with what’s been plaguing Azeroth.
  • Questions about Sargeras’ sword will finally be answered. 

World of Warcraft: Midnight 

  • An expansion that will take players back to the “old world” of Quel’thalas in a battle against the forces of the Void. 

World of Warcraft: The Last Titan 

  • An expansion that will see players uncover the secrets of the titans, as well as their long-term plans for the future of civilization.
  • This expansion, while its setting remains mostly unknown, will feature a return to the continent of Northrend. 

When will the three expansions in The Worldsoul Saga be released? 

WoW Hallowfall zone image, as featured in the Blizzcon 2023 reveal
The next WoW expansion, and the first of the Worldsoul Saga, is set to launch next year. Image via Blizzard Entertainment

It’s possible that these next three expansions will come out at a faster rate than expansions in years past. Since they’ve all been announced at once, it’s likely that Blizzard won’t want to keep fans waiting, and that downtime between expansions could be slashed in the near future. For now, all we know is that the first expansion of the Worldsoul Saga, The War Within, will be released next year, 2024

It’s very likely that, to prevent a clash with the launch of WoW Cataclysm Classic in the first half of the year, The War Within will go live in the second half of next year. 

Traditionally, WoW expansions have been released every other year dating as far back as Wrath of the Lich King in 2008. But with a clear and distinct plan for the next few years already set in stone, it’s possible that the cadence of releasing an expansion every other year could be done away with starting with The War Within

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Image of Michael Kelly
Michael Kelly
Staff Writer covering World of Warcraft and League of Legends, among others. Mike's been with Dot since 2020, and has been covering esports since 2018.