Ten years ago, Blizzard released the first expansion for World of Warcraft, which began a long inexorable transformation into the game’s present form. Warcraft has gone through a lot of changes through its six expansions, with a seventh expansion on the way. But one of the biggest surprises out of this year’s BlizzCon is that Blizzard is bringing back the original World of Warcraft with dedicated servers and a commitment to giving the old school WoW fans the experience that they’ve wanted for years.

Via PC Gamer, Blizzard announced World of Warcraft Classic is in the works. The news is light on specifics regarding a launch window for the World of Warcraft servers, but it is happening. Blizzard released the above tease for World of Warcraft Classic, in which the events of the previous expansions are rewound until viewers are brought back to the time frame of the game’s first iteration.

It has to be said that the current incarnation of Warcraft does offer a lot of improvements to World of Warcraft that won’t be carried over to the classic version of the title. But that’s not why fans have been clamoring for the original WoW. A lot of their desire is tinged by nostalgia, but so are most retro gaming titles. WoW‘s imperfections aren’t a defect, they’re a feature. Even though it’s relatively primitive by modern Warcraft‘s standards, the original version is still a great game. For many players, this is the title that introduced them to the franchise and the larger community that it inspired. It’s a piece of gaming history, and it deserves to be preserved.

For years, Blizzard was somewhat dismissive over fan requests for servers dedicated to classic WoW, even when fan servers attempted to fill the void. It’s refreshing that Blizzard has reversed course and embraced the desires of its audience. It may still be a long wait for World of Warcraft Classic to get off of the ground, but it’s coming, and we’re very happy that it is.

Are you excited about the opportunity to play World of Warcraft Classic? Declare your allegiance and share your thoughts below!

Images: Blizzard

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