World of Warcraft’s 2026 Revealed for Midnight, Classic

by

Blizzard is giving us a first look at what’s coming to World of Warcraft in 2026. While it might seem strange to talk about something so far off, especially with BlizzCon happening this year, today’s news focuses on what’s happening right now. Let’s get straight to the details.

Holly Longdale, the Executive Producer and Vice President for World of Warcraft, started by sharing some exciting numbers about how popular player housing is in the game. And it’s a hit – players really love it!

Wow, I can’t believe how much time players are spending building their homes! Apparently, everyone’s been really into decorating – we’re talking over 4 million hours spent inside, and more than 14 million decor items placed! It’s amazing to see how creative everyone is being with their spaces.

Longdale announced that future improvements to player housing in World of Warcraft will be based on what players want. Game Director Ion Hazzikostas also shared that the team is very pleased with how popular Player Housing has become.

We did get some news about upcoming improvements to Player Housing. Ion Hazzikostas shared that they’re working on quality-of-life changes, including making it simpler to position your house. Players will also soon be able to decorate with their companion pets and display their preferred collectibles, like mounts.

The game will soon get some helpful updates to improve the player experience. One of these updates will let you copy and paste items created by other players into your own home. The developers are also creating a simple system of codes to easily share and import popular designs. To support this, the amount of in-game currency you can spend on decorations will continue to increase.

World of Warcraft Midnight Roadmap Revealed

There’s a lot planned for World of Warcraft Midnight in 2026.

Beyond the big updates like 12.1, Blizzard is working on lots of smaller additions to keep gameplay fresh and fun. These include things like Void Assaults – short raids with a single boss – and a unique version of the Prop Hunt game mode designed specifically for World of Warcraft.

Players have collectively spent more than 4 million hours inside the game, and they’ve placed over 14 million decorative items in their homes!

Alongside Delves, players can look forward to Labrinths, a new and expansive type of content. The team behind WoW Remix and Plunderstorm is also creating a completely separate game mode planned for release next year. Hazzikostas stated that they aim to consistently provide a variety of interesting content, just as they have since the Dragonflight expansion launched.

Blizzard Confirms That They’re Still Cooking Up Something New For Classic World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft has a lot planned beyond the new Midnight expansion, especially for its Classic versions in 2026. Mists of Pandaria Classic will get two new content updates this year. Phase 4, arriving this Spring, will add new scenarios, quests, and continue the legendary questline. The biggest addition will be Phase 5, launching this Summer, which includes the Siege of Orgrimmar raid and the Timeless Isle zone. Blizzard has officially confirmed this release timeline.

Blizzard has announced plans to release the Burning Crusade expansion in 2026 with a faster pace of content. It will launch on February 5th, followed by The Black Temple in the summer and Sunwell Plateau in the fall.

Subscribe for World of Warcraft newsletter coverage and analysis

Get the newsletter for in-depth breakdowns of World of Warcraft developments — from player housing upgrades and Midnight expansion modes to Classic roadmaps — plus context that helps you follow these changes as part of the broader gaming landscape.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

According to Longdale, classic game fans worldwide have exciting things coming. Just as she was about to share details, someone interrupted, calling out, ‘Holly, wait!’ We’ll have to wait until BlizzCon to find out more.

Many players who enjoy the original World of Warcraft think this is a hint that ‘Classic Plus’ is coming. Classic Plus is an updated version of the original game that would add new content without jumping ahead to later expansions. We’ll likely find out for sure at BlizzCon in September.

Read More

2026-01-29 20:39