World of Warcraft: Midnight, the second chapter of the Worldsoul Saga and Blizzard’s eleventh expansion for the long-running MMORPG, is officially set to launch worldwide on March 2, 2026, at 3:00 PM PST. Blizzard revealed the date with a new cinematic trailer called Midnight Arrives 3.2.26. The trailer shows the elven kingdom of Quel’Thalas under attack by Xal’atath the Harbinger and her Void forces, highlighting a major conflict between light and darkness as a massive Voidstorm spreads over Eversong Woods and Silvermoon City while characters like Lor’themar Theron prepare to fight back. Players can already pre-purchase the expansion in Base, Heroic, or Epic editions on the Battle.net shop. Every edition includes access to World of Warcraft: Midnight, as well as access to The War Within if you don’t already own it. They also come with an Enhanced Level 80 Character Boost that provides upgraded gear and helpful reputation progress suited for the new expansion. All editions include early access to the new Housing feature starting December 2, 2025, during The Warning prologue update, along with some Trader’s Tender currency for the Trading Post. The Heroic Edition adds the Lightwing Dragonhawk flying mount, the Lightstrider Raiment transmog set, and one thousand Trader’s Tender. The Epic Edition includes everything in the Heroic Edition plus even more bonuses, such as the Hopeflutter and Doomfeathers Dragonhawk pets, extra mounts like the Voidwing Dragonhawk and the color-shifting Voidlight Surger, and the Voidstrider Raiment transmog set. It also provides special Housing decorations inspired by light and the Void, including themed rotundas, fountains, and paintings of characters like Alleria, Turalyon, Arator, and Xal’atath. Players who purchase the Epic Edition also receive immediate access to the Beta, at least three days of early access to the expansion starting around February 27, thirty days of game time, and a total of two thousand Trader’s Tender. Trader’s Tender is only granted once per Battle.net account and region, with a maximum of two thousand from the Epic Edition.
The expansion’s story focuses on Xal’atath, who unleashes chaos by invading the blood elf homelands of Quel’Thalas. Their goal is to extinguish the Sunwell and cover Azeroth in eternal darkness through the Voidstorm. Players must rally allies from both the light and the shadow while leveling up to 90 across four new and reimagined zones. Eversong Woods has been revitalized, merging the original area with Ghostlands, featuring skyride travel and the iconic gleaming blood elf architecture. Zul’Aman represents the troll empire with its ancient forests and mountains, while Harandar is a fungal jungle where the roots of the world tree converge and the barrier between dreams and reality weakens at the Rift of Aln. Finally, the Voidstorm realm is a dangerous land filled with devouring creatures led by Xal’atath’s domanaar forces. Key storylines include Arator’s Journey, where players join the son of Turalyon and Alleria Windrunner to collect Light relics starting from Eversong Woods. The renewed Silvermoon City serves as the central hub and is now shared between factions, featuring the new Arcantina tavern. Players can also enjoy new customization options, including recruiting the mysterious Haranir as a playable allied race for both Horde and Alliance. Haranir can choose classes such as Druid, Hunter, Mage, Monk, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, or Warrior, and feature bioluminescent body paints. Additionally, a third Demon Hunter specialization called Devourer has been introduced. This ranged Void-harnessing spec is available to blood elves and void elves and allows players to rip abilities from enemies.
Endgame content expands with eleven new Delves, including ten standard adventures and one Nemesis-style challenge similar to Torment’s Rise. Players can team up with the blood elf rogue Valeera Sanguinar while exploring these new activities. The expansion also introduces eight new dungeons such as Windrunner Spire, Magister’s Terrace, and Voidscar Arena, along with three raids in Season 1: The Voidspire, The Dreamrift, and March on Quel’Danas, offering a total of nine bosses. Midnight adds several major systems to enhance player progression and creativity. Housing is now available and provides free homes in both public and private neighborhoods. These homes can be shared across Warbands and between factions, and players can customize interiors by earning Neighborhood Favor. Monthly community events will gradually evolve NPCs and rewards, and new decorations can be collected throughout the game. Early access to housing features will be limited, but all options will be fully available at launch. The expansion also introduces the Prey system, which lets players hunt dynamic enemies throughout Azeroth who can strike back at any moment. Talent trees have been expanded with new Apex talents, and PvP players will find new additions such as the Slayer’s Rise battleground and the Training Grounds. The user interface has been streamlined with improvements to nameplates, damage meters, and boss alerts. Transmog enthusiasts can save outfits and set default appearances more easily, and the leveling experience has been updated for all new or returning players starting from Dragonflight.
Beta sign-ups are now open for the community, press, and fansites. Players who purchase the Epic Edition will receive instant access to the testing phase. All dates for the Beta, Early Access, and Housing features may change, and occasional outages or time zone differences are possible, so players should always check their Battle.net invites to avoid phishing attempts. The expansion requires an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time, an internet connection, and the Battle.net desktop app. With all these updates, Midnight sets the stage for a major evolution in Azeroth’s story as the game enters its twentieth year.
Source: World of Warcraft
