When does WoW: The War Within Early Access Begin?

World of Warcraft‘s latest expansion is soon to launch, but those who pre-ordered the Epic Edition will be able to access it even earlier. So if you’re looking for the soonest you can get into Khaz Algar, here’s exactly when the WoW: The War Within Early Access begins.

What Time does Early Access begin for WoW: The War Within?

While the proper launch is scheduled for August 26, 2024, owners of the Epic Edition will be able to access the game early, starting from August 22, 2024. This early access period will go live at 3 p.m. PDT or 6 P.M. EDT on that date for players in North America. Meanwhile, if you’re in the UK it will begin at 11 p.m. BST, while for most of Europe it will go live at Midnight (00:00 CEST) on August 23, 2024. The game will launch for other edition owners at the same times but a few days later on August 26, 2024. You can check more details over on the official Blizzard website.

What to expect from Early Access for WoW: The War Within

The Early Access period contains full access to The War Within expansion for the characters on the registered account. You can expect to begin completing quests and the story campaign just as if the expansion had fully launched. However, some late-game features like Weekly Quests and Mythic Dungeons will not be available, likely to curtail some of the progression advantage players would get by starting one weekly reset early.

This period of Early Access is subject to possible outages and congestion issues. Simply put, launch day is never the most reliable time to play an MMO. While putting the early start behind a paywall may mean there are less players in Early Access and thus the opening zones may not be quite as overcrowded as they often are, it’s still entirely likely that the servers will be under strain. There will also no doubt be plenty of bugs and issues to be ironed out, though there’s a chance that getting through the first zone may allow you to escape some of the bottlenecks that usually emerge on launch. If you’re thinking of picking up the Epic Edition but haven’t taken the plunge yet, these are a few extra things to consider.

WoW: The War Within launches on August 22, 2024, for owners of the epic edition and August 26, 2024, for owners of other editions. The main game is immediately available for PC and Mac.