Rumor: Wrath of the Lich King closed beta to start on July 3rd
by Elizabeth Harper 
Jun 30th 2008 at 3:00PM
July 3rd, 2008. This will either be a blessed day for a lot of us WoW addicted folk, or one of some major disappointment. According to the German site allvatar, they spoke with Blizzard's German assistant community manager Gnorog. He reportedly said that the community managers now had permission to announce the Wrath of the Lich King closed beta as starting on July 3rd.Now before you go and tell your friends and family what really is important to you (because lets be honest, WotLK beta > 4th of July, right?) you need to consider that this is nothing more than a big ol' rumor.
This information came from Gnorog when he was at the World Wide Invitational in Paris this past weekend. I know that Gnorog exists and is a German community manager, but I can't confirm that he was at the WWI (although I'm sure he would have been). We get a good amount of beta and release rumors every day here at WoW Insider, and half the time they refer to people that aren't even real. So this rumor gets +10 for referring to a real person.
As always Blizzard is being very tight lipped on this. Bornakk recently locked a thread discussing this date in the WotLK forums. He gave the standard line "We will provide further information on our forums when details on a beta testing phase are ready. For now we have no date to provide regarding this." There have also been a few threads
that have appeared on the German WoW forums, but they have not received any comment from Gnorog.
We'll have to wait and see what happens. Check back on WoW Insider throughout the day on July 3rd to see if the beta does drop. That, or you can just listen for my scream of joy when I get my beta key.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Wrath of the Lich King, Rumors
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ragna Jun 30th 2008 3:09PM
If it was locked by Bornakk so soon I wouldn't disregard it. While it might not be the 3rd I can't see a beta TOO far away. The Alpha stuff has been flying around for a while now.
Hegs Jun 30th 2008 3:10PM
i tried finding the Opt-in for the beta under account management but i couldn't find it has anyone else? the pictures i have seen show the opt in under the 3 lines of other options that i do have but i don't have the 4th line with authenticator or opt-in
Damanuhk Jun 30th 2008 3:17PM
I saw it earlier when I logged in to the main page. It took you to the Scroll of Resurrection page, and I think it was recently taken down.
Ikari Jun 30th 2008 3:18PM
It's been removed.
Kolo Jun 30th 2008 3:11PM
I read on a forum that he clarified it wasnt 3rd July, but some time in July. We'll see...
Faerun Jun 30th 2008 3:23PM
I went out and bought Warcraft III this weekend to supplement my Lore knowledge and when the program asked me to register the registration page had a checkbox for Beta-Opt In. So maybe it's not just for WoW.
Faerun
Green Armadillo Jun 30th 2008 3:23PM
Blizzard hasn't been entirely deterred by a holiday weekend in the past, but I would imagine that there would be more advance notice than this. Then again, it does sound like the Wrath alpha may be close to major feature complete (i.e. the DK is in and has a reasonable ability spread, many classes have their new abilities/talents), so I expect we will see beta this month.
My guess is we'll know for sure on Thursday, or if the severed head of the mod in question is posted at the top of the forums as a warning for other loose-lipped CM's. :)
rick gregory Jun 30th 2008 3:24PM
I just can't see this being true. Why launch a beta the day before a national holiday and 3 day weekend in the US? Why not wait until, oh, MONDAY?
Also, frankly, do we really believe that the beta was that close and Blizzard wouldn't mention it at the WWI? If I were them and had a definite date, I *certainly* would have announced that - it's big news for Blizzard fans.
Eternalpayn Jun 30th 2008 3:26PM
I think they misinterpreted/mistranslated the quote. I think he probably said (or meant to say) that they would be allowed to talk about the closed beta on July 3rd.
adam Jun 30th 2008 3:28PM
I guess I'm confused as to why everyone thinks Blizzard would be hesitant in releasing the Beta *prior* to a 3 Day Holiday Weekend? What better timing, then to have 3 full days of un-adulterated WoTLK Beta to test?! YEAYAH!
csarcops Jun 30th 2008 3:38PM
I was curious about this myself, as I received an email Saturday welcoming me to the Wrath beta and I wasn't sure if it was real or just another fake-out. The website in the email is beta.wotlk-eu.com, and the email was from noreply@blizzard.com. Thoughts?
Cody Burns Jun 30th 2008 4:39PM
That would be a fake e-mail. You should report it to hacks@blizzard.com
But if you want to be sure, ask about it on the Customer Service forums for your region.
Terrian Jun 30th 2008 5:25PM
Classic WoW and BC both used beta.worldofwarcraft.com for their beta file hosting/discussion forums. For EU folks, that's beta.wow-europe.com. WotLK will be no different.
HINT: Those URLs are already in use for the F&F Alpha (check'em and see). When closed beta starts (and if/when you are selected for it) you will access everything necessary there.
Krystalle Voecks Jun 30th 2008 4:32PM
That'd be fake. Best to forward it to support@blizzard.com so they can get that domain shut down.
Arturis Jun 30th 2008 4:46PM
Do not trust it.
Domain Name: WOTLK-EU.COM
Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
Whois Server: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com
Referral URL: http://www.PublicDomainRegistry.com
Name Server: NS1.DOTSI.PT
Name Server: NS2.DOTSI.PT
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 24-jun-2008
Creation Date: 24-jun-2008
Expiration Date: 24-jun-2009
Thats not Blizzard.
Jamo Jun 30th 2008 3:39PM
Seeing that the posts were locked on the wow forums they aren't ready to release it. Even if signups start July 3rd we won't see the beta start until August. Here a great analysis about the release date of wrath: http://www.almostgaming.com/wow/news/wrath-lich-king-release-date
Badger Jun 30th 2008 3:54PM
'According to the German site allvatar, they spoke with Blizzard's German assistant community manager Gnorog. He reportedly said that the community managers now had permission to announce the Wrath of the Lich King closed beta as starting on July 3rd.'
Well I guess Gnorog had better pray to the Earth Mother that he was right! Otherwise I see a pink slip in his future! :P
vlad Jun 30th 2008 4:13PM
i love how modern news is formed. anything true or not is reported in hopes of getting a scoop. if its true you look great and can brag you said it forst. iif its false you just forget about it and move to the next rumor.
investigate the story. then tell us. stop filling your blogging quotas with garbage that may or may not be true :)
Joshiepoo Jun 30th 2008 4:29PM
I'd say that if this rumor is true than beta sign-ups would start July 3 and closed beta for people that have beta keys (such as WWI and Blizzcon attendees.) The time line seems right for a fall release. You beta test for a month or two which puts you in Aug/Sept then Blizzard makes slight improvements for another month or two and then you release the game in early December. I mean this is Wrath of the Lich King on the snow continent so a snowy month release would make sense.
Xini Jun 30th 2008 4:24PM
Remember, the level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain levelled to 80 at WWI, might be a hint that WotLK is close ;) (If not, they could wait untill BlizzCon)