Why are WoW Classic fans so angry about The Burning Crusade?

The rollout of WoW Classic’s The Burning Crusade expansion has been an utter disaster to this point.

After the advertising misfire that saw Blizzard leak The Burning Crusade’s release date, the company is now finding itself in hot water for its launch plans for the game. Specifically, WoW Classic players are frustrated over what is seen as a layered attempt to gouge even more money out of them ahead of The Burning Crusade’s release.

The biggest gripe surrounds plans to effectively split WoW Classic into two parts, walling off players based on whether they’re playing in the expansion or not. Players will effectively be forced to make a choice as to whether they will want to stay in the vanilla version of the game or move their character forward into The Burning Crusade. But if a player wants to maintain a presence in both versions of the game, it will cost them $35.

According to Blizzard skeptics, the plan for the company is to effectively force players into paying extra. It will also be a blow to the wallets for players that want to ensure they can continue playing the vanilla version with friends that are new to the franchise.

Making matters even more difficult is the rollout of The Burning Crusade’s new races in World of Warcraft, the Draenei and Blood Elves. While The Burning Crusade is about a month away from release, players will have just two weeks to get started on leveling their new characters from either of the new races. 

Hitting level 60 in that short amount of time is very difficult without foregoing work, school, and sleep. Blizzard undoubtedly knows this, which has many speculating that Blizzard is looking to force players into purchasing a level boost for their Blood Elf and Draenei characters once the expansion launches in order to hang out with their friends’ maxed out characters in the new expansion’s zones.

The double whammy of controversies continues what has been an endless wave of controversies surrounding Blizzard. Since 2019, the publisher has been in a constant state of turmoil stemming from company layoffs, to its handling of pro-democracy protests by Hearthstone pro Ng “blitzchung” Wai Chung, and even the critical flop of Warcraft 3: Reforged.

When is WoW Classic: The Burning Crusade coming out?

WoW Classic: The Burning Crusade is set to be released on June 1, 2021. This news was confirmed alongside the announcements surrounding the release plans for the expansion.