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WoW production director reassures fans Dragonflight is on track

With the next WoW expansion, Dragonflight, on the horizon, Blizzard's Pat Dawson has reassured fans that the next chapter in the World of Warcraft saga is ready

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The next WoW expansion, World of Warcraft Dragonfight, is set to release by the end of this year, and Blizzard’s Pat Dawson has addressed concerns that the game is launching too early.

As all eyes turn to WoW Dragonflight (the next chapter of World of Warcraft’s ongoing story), the spectre of Shadowlands is already haunting the new expansion – and it isn’t even out yet.

Making its debut in 2020, Shadowlands enticed players back to Azeroth with its mysterious vistas and twisted plotline, but rapidly went downhill after launch. Fraught with frustrating systems and plot holes, interest quickly began to dwindle.

Despite promises that WoW Dragonflight’s plot will take players “back to basics”, some remain concerned that the next expansion will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor. In response, production director Pat Dawson has some encouraging words to dispel fan concerns.

WoW dev claims Dragonflight is ready

Speaking to PCGamesN, Dawson admits “I’ve heard some of the feedback, too. What I will say is that this is pretty consistent with the cadence that we release expansions on. We released Shadowlands in November, 2020, so by the end of this year that’s at least two years from the last time we released an expansion, which is what a lot of our players have come to grow accustomed to.

“When we start working on these things it’s not like we just turn it around in a few months,” he continues. “We’ve been working on this for years – before we shipped Shadowlands.”

With a smile he states “a lot of love, effort and care has gone into crafting this expansion. I think what might be alarming players is the different alpha philosophy this time; we’re doing that a little bit later this time than we’ve done in the past.

“That’s really so that we can get focused feedback on each one of these zones and the content that we’re rolling out in the alpha, instead of just putting everything in front of people or having things roll on slowly and having people lose interest.

“With the alpha coming out I think that folks will be able to see where we’re at with the game,” he states, concluding “I’m excited for them to see that, and I think that’s going to help drive confidence that the end of the year is a very good target for us.”

The Dragonflight alpha is available now for those who signed up for early testing. If you have been selected to participate in the alpha, you’ll receive an email to the address you signed up with inviting you into the wonderful world of the Dragon Isles.

If you missed out on the alpha and are looking to sign up for the beta, you can either sign up via the official WoW website. If you’re looking for some in-game addons to help you out, you’ll also want to check out our best WoW addons guide.