World of Warcraft’s next expansion now has a firm date. World of Warcraft: Midnight launches worldwide on March 2, 2026 at 3 pm PST, stepping in as the second chapter of the Worldsoul Saga and throwing Azeroth into a full Light-versus-Void conflict centered on Quel’Thalas and the Sunwell. Players will level to 90, return to revamped blood elf lands, and finally get their hands on full player housing.
Housing Early Access begins December 2, 2025 for anyone who buys any edition of Midnight, and the expansion’s beta is already rolling out to invited players and Epic Edition owners.
Release date and pre-launch timeline
Blizzard is treating Midnight as a staged rollout instead of a single “flip the switch” moment.
- Now – Midnight beta testing is underway, with access for Epic Edition owners and invited accounts.
- December 2, 2025 – “The Warning” prologue update hits and Housing Early Access opens. You can claim a house, join a neighborhood, and start decorating with a limited pool of items.
- Early 2026 – Pre-patch events ramp up the Voidstorm over Quel’Thalas and set up the invasion.
- March 2, 2026, 3 pm PST – World of Warcraft: Midnight launches. Level cap goes to 90, Season 1 begins, and all zones, dungeons, raids, and systems unlock.
Midnight is sold in Base, Heroic, and Epic editions. All three include The War Within, an Enhanced Level 80 character boost, and early access to housing, with extra cosmetics and beta / early access layered on the higher tiers.
Story: Xal’atath brings the Void to the Sunwell
Midnight keeps the spotlight on Xal’atath, the Harbinger, who has now secured even more Void power and is done operating from the shadows. Her next move is to strike directly at the Sunwell and the blood elf homeland.
A massive Voidstorm hangs over Quel’Thalas, threatening to snuff out the Light and plunge Azeroth deeper into cosmic darkness. The core campaign sends you across the Eastern Kingdoms and into the storm itself as:
- Blood elves scramble to defend Eversong Woods, Silvermoon, and the Sunwell
- Forces of the Light rally, with Turalyon, Alleria, and their son Arator taking on larger roles
- The Void’s Devouring Host, led by powerful entities like the domanaar, tears open reality around the Sunwell
One of the main story paths has you traveling with Arator as he tries to reconcile his lineage and connection to the Light while hunting relics tied to priests and paladins who rely on the Sunwell.
Midnight’s four core zones
At launch, Midnight features four zones that tie together the Void invasion and the rebirth of Quel’Thalas.
Eversong Woods (revamped)
The classic blood elf starting region is rebuilt as a modern questing zone that merges Eversong Woods and the Ghostlands. The Scourge scars have largely healed, the visuals are upgraded, and the zone is finally fully connected to the Eastern Kingdoms without a loading screen. You can skyride through the golden forests and glittering towers like any other modern continent.
Zul’Aman
Once a raid, now a full zone. Zul’Aman expands into ancestral Amani troll lands, mixing dense forests, mountains, crypts, and ziggurats. The Amani are still proud and angry neighbors, and the rising Void pressure makes their fragile peace with the blood elves even shakier.
Harandar
Home of the Haranir, Harandar is a fungal jungle built around the roots of the world trees. The Haranir use rootways to move around Azeroth, watching the world while rarely stepping into its politics. The Rift of Aln here is a thin spot between dreams and reality, and Void-touched threats seep through that wound.
Voidstorm
This is the heart of Xal’atath’s power: a chaotic, low-gravity landscape suffused with Void energy where even native creatures prey on each other for strength. The Devouring Host and their domanaar commanders rule here, and the 40 vs 40 battleground Slayer’s Rise uses this zone as its backdrop.
Silvermoon City itself gets a full rebuild as a modern hub with flying support. Around one-third of the city remains Horde-only, while the rest is shared space for both factions, with new areas like a Sanctum of Light and a memorial garden added to the old layout.
Major new features in Midnight
Player housing
After years of requests, player housing is finally a real, supported system in retail WoW.
- You can claim a house and place furniture with 3D tools that support both precise and grid-based placement.
- Decor comes from dungeons, raids, achievements, crafting, seasonal activities, and vendors.
- “Neighborhoods” let guilds and friend groups cluster their homes together as shared communities.
Housing Early Access starts with the 11.2.7 “The Warning” content update on December 2, 2025 for anyone who owns Midnight. The system then expands with the full suite of options when the expansion launches.
Haranir allied race
The Haranir are a new allied race you unlock by earning their trust through questing in Harandar. They are a bioluminescent, nature-tied people who live among the roots of the world trees.
Once unlocked, Haranir can join either faction and play a wide range of classes, including Druid, Hunter, Mage, Monk, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, and Warrior.
Devourer Demon Hunter specialization
Demon Hunters finally get a third spec. Devourer is a mid-range Void-themed DPS spec that leans into purple spell effects, beam attacks, and soul-harvesting style abilities.
Key points:
- Devourer unlocks in the Midnight pre-patch.
- It plays at a similar range to Evokers, with options to weave in and out of melee.
- Signature abilities include Void-infused metamorphosis, Void Beam, and finisher-style nukes.
- Void elves can now be Demon Hunters, tying player race options directly into the Midnight story.
Dungeons, raids, Delves, and systems
Midnight’s first season leans heavily into group content and repeatable progression.
Highlights include:
- Delves – Ten new Delves plus a Nemesis Delve, with Valeera Sanguinar as your companion.
- Eight new dungeons – A mix of revamped favorites like Windrunner Spire and Magister’s Terrace and brand new instances such as Voidscar Arena and Maisara Caverns.
- Three raids – The Voidspire, The Dreamrift, and March on Quel’Danas combine for nine bosses in the first tier.
- Prey system – An outdoor hunt feature where you track elite targets at escalating difficulties for cosmetics, mounts, titles, and housing items.
- PvP updates – Slayer’s Rise as a large-scale battleground in the Voidstorm, plus Training Grounds to help newer PvP players practice against NPCs.
On top of that, there are broad quality-of-life upgrades: a more capable transmog system, better UI tools like improved cooldown tracking and resource HUDs, and accessibility tweaks that should make high-end play less of an interface fight.
Why Midnight’s launch matters
Landing on March 2, 2026 keeps the Worldsoul Saga moving at a brisk pace after The War Within, instead of stretching each expansion into a long, isolated era. It also hits a familiar window for WoW, when players are often ready to commit to a fresh power climb in late winter and early spring.
For long-time players, Midnight is a mix of comfort and escalation. You get to revisit Eversong and Silvermoon rebuilt with modern tech, finally settle into a house of your own, and see Xal’atath step out as a fully realized antagonist rather than a whisper at the edge of the story.
For returning or new players, the leveling flow into the Midnight prologue should make it much easier to jump into current content, catch up on the Worldsoul Saga, and be in the thick of things when the Voidstorm hits Quel’Thalas.
If Blizzard sticks the landing, March 2 will not just be another expansion date. It will be the point where player housing, rebuilt elven zones, and a full Light versus Void war become the backbone of World of Warcraft for the next few years.
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