World of Warcraft 8.0 Battle for Azeroth begins on August 14, 2018, and pre-purchase is still open at the moment. Blizzard did not say that 8.0 is equivalent to a “World of Warcraft 2″, but the introduction of the WoW classic servers shows that WoW 8.0 is the end and a start of a new era.
Blizzard’s parent company, Activision, made an interesting choice by comboing their release of the Call of Duty 4 Remake alongside Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Astoundingly, the Call of Duty 4 Remake was sold and praised more than Infinite Warfare was on the market, so having both WoW 8.0 and WoW classic servers is both liberating for players and a safe marketing plan for Blizzard.
According to Blizzard, World of Warcraft 8.0 Battle for Azeroth is “A new chapter of the epic Warcraft saga [that] is coming with brand-new features, gameplay, story, and more! Check the exact time Battle for Azeroth launches in your region and prepare for war!”
The story of 8.0 is that the players have joined forces to repel the Burning Legion and have sealed Sargeras, but before the seal was stamped, Gorribal stabbed Azeroth. Even though the Alliance and the Horde teamed up to seal the head of the Burning Legion, Sargeras, the war has not subsided.
Character customization and maps in WoW 8.0 will return to the traditional setting, which shows Blizzard’s desire to return to the early WoW style, and the intention to reboot the lore of World of Warcraft. Even though most of the features and group quests in World of Warcraft 7.0 Legion will remain in the upcoming 8.0, Blizzard reworks the special equip system and replaces it to a new system called Heart of Azeroth for players to gather the spirits of Azeroth.
World of Warcraft 8.0, Battle for Azeroth, should be expected to open up a new page in the lore of WoW. Although this massive update and expansion is not an official World of Warcraft 2, it carries the task of similarly opening a new era.