It’s August, and for the biggest Blizzard fans out there, this means that we're less than a month away from the official release of World of Warcraft Classic. The closed beta has ended weeks ago, and the stage is almost fully set for this MMO to once again launch. That said, there’s still one last big test that Blizzard is readying for the game, and now the developer has announced a proper date for it.
In another community post on the Blizzard forums, community manager Kaivax has finally released details on World of Warcraft Classic’s final stress test: the pre-launch test. It’s slated to begin next week, on August 8 at 2:00 p.m. EDT and end on Friday, August 9. This pre-launch test is global, meaning that all servers will be involved, and that all players with an existing World of Warcraft account with a current subscription or active game time can join in. If you missed out on all the closed beta and stress tests that happened a few months ago, then now might be the best time to try out World of Warcraft Classic before the game’s official launch. This build will have a maximum character level of 15.
Blizzard also noted the key time frame for playing, asking players to log-in and play as much as possible during August 8, from 2:00 p.m. EDT to 4:00 p.m. EDT, as those is the hours that the developers will be looking at the game extensively for issues that need to be patched out before launch. The post also noted players can now install World of Warcraft Classic from the Battle.net desktop app for pre-loading before the test next week. Here’s how to install World of Warcraft Classic:
- Open the Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App and select World of Warcraft in the game selection menu on the left.
- Under the Version dropdown menu, select World of Warcraft Classic. If you have more than one World of Warcraft account, you’ll see a second dropdown for Account. In that column, select the active account to associate with your WoW Classic install.
- Click the Install button. You’ll see an installation progress bar that will show you when the installation is complete.
Blizzard also released the specs required to play World of Warcraft Classic. These specs are for the PC and Mac versions of the game, and the bare minimum required is a lot lower than what is asked for Battle for Azeroth. Also, it's worth noting that Blizzard tried running the game on systems manufactured and released in the months between 2007 and 2009, meaning that you can basically run the game on decades-old hardware. It is, after all, just a revamped version of the early years of World of Warcraft. That said, World of Warcraft Classic comes with some improvements, as the hard drive requirements for this title are much smaller now than that of version 1.12 of the original World of Warcraft.
PC MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- OPERATING SYSTEM - Windows 7 64-bit (with latest Service Packs)
- PROCESSOR - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom X3 8750
- VIDEO - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB or AMD Radeon HD 4850 512 MB or Intel HD Graphics 4000
- MEMORY - 2 GB RAM (4 GB for integrated graphics such as Intel HD Graphics series)
- STORAGE - 5 GB available space
- INTERNET - Broadband internet connection
- INPUT - Keyboard and mouse required. Other input devices are not supported.
- RESOLUTION - 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution
MAC MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- OPERATING SYSTEM - MacOS 10.12 (latest version)
- PROCESSOR - Intel Core i5, 2.0 GHz or better
- VIDEO - Metal capable GPU with 1 GB VRAM
- MEMORY - 2 GB RAM (4GB for integrated graphics such as Intel HD Graphics series)
- INTERNET - Broadband internet connection
- INPUT - Keyboard and mouse required. Other input devices are not supported.
- RESOLUTION - 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution
For more details on the upcoming global pre-launch test, check out the thread on the community forums here.
World of Warcraft Classic will be released on PC on August 27.
