Is WoW worth playing in 2025: Full Retail and Classic breakdown
With so many changes and updates coming to both WoW Retail and Classic, should you play WoW in 2025? Let’s find out!
Table of Contents
Key takeaways
- If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to come back to World of Warcraft or start playing, 2025 is it.
- With The War Within and upcoming expansions, Blizzard is keeping Retail WoW fresh with new features, systems, and smoother onboarding for new players.
- Classic WoW thrives with new modes: Season of Discovery, Hardcore, Fresh Classic realms, and Mists of Pandaria Classic offer varied ways to relive the game’s roots with modern twists and high-stakes gameplay.
- Catch-up mechanics, better visuals, and reduced reliance on addons make WoW more accessible than ever for both new and returning players.
Whether you’ve played it or not, World of Warcraft is a name every gamer knows. For years, it ruled the MMO world, setting the gold standard for the genre. But times have changed. With new titles popping up and players exploring fresh experiences, many are asking the big question: “Is WoW still worth playing in 2025?”
The short answer? Yes — it’s absolutely still worth it, and it’s never too late to start playing World of Warcraft.
WoW remains one of the most content-rich MMORPGs, with Blizzard continuing to roll out major updates, new expansions, and quality-of-life improvements that keep the game alive and evolving. If you’re wondering whether now’s the right time to jump in or return to the game, keep reading. We’ll break down exactly why World of Warcraft is still worth playing in 2025.
WoW current state
With The War Within kicking off the new World Soul Saga, Blizzard is finally steering WoW in a fresh direction after years of hit-or-miss expansions.
The catch-up system has been reworked to be more player-friendly, making it easier than ever to gear up and get into current content. On top of that, Blizzard is actively improving the beginner experience. The developers have been polishing in-game visuals and reducing the reliance on third-party addons to make the game more accessible for everyone.
Meanwhile, WoW Classic continues to thrive with seasonal content and progression realms. Season of Discovery development has wrapped up, but the devs are working on another new project. Other than that, players still have plenty to enjoy, including Fresh Classic, Hardcore servers, and, of course, the highly anticipated Mists of Pandaria Classic.
Note
According to Active Player, the average monthly WoW player count in 2025 is 7-9 million.
WoW Retail
After the series of objectively underwhelming expansions like Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands, many players were too disappointed and decided to leave WoW and play other games. While Dragonflight was a step in the right direction, it played things safe and didn’t quite bring back the spark.
But that changed with The War Within. As the first chapter of the World Soul Saga, this expansion has managed to reignite excitement across the WoW community, offering a fresh start and a clearer vision for the game’s future for the upcoming years.
On top of that, early details about the Midnight expansion have already surfaced. Finally, a long-awaited feature is making its debut, which we will take a closer look a bit later in this article. And let’s not forget about the World Soul’s final chapter, The Last Titan!
The War Within
The War Within brings fresh features like:
- New playable race: Earthen (Alliance and Horde)
- New Warbands system – Share progress, bank space, and reputation across all your characters on the same account.
- Delves – Small-scale, replayable adventures designed for solo players or small groups, packed with loot and story.
- New Hero Talent trees – Deepen class customization with powerful, thematic talent options tied to your class’s legacy.
- Dragonriding turned into Skyriding – The popular Dragonriding system expands to all flying mounts, offering faster, more dynamic travel across Azeroth.
- Horrific Visions Revisited – The fan-favorite feature from Battle for Azeroth returns with updates.
- The Nightfall event – A brand-new in-game event in The War Within.
- Old expansion remixes, such as Mists of Pandaria Remix and the upcoming Legion Remix – Experience past expansions at an accelerated pace with modern gameplay systems and limited-time rewards.
Midnight
While Midnight doesn’t have an official release date yet, a lot of information about the expansion has already surfaced. One of the most exciting features confirmed is the long-awaited player housing system. After years of waiting, WoW players will finally be able to own and customize their very own homes in Azeroth.
WoW Classic
Classic WoW is always worth playing to relive those epic times of an era long past or try out new surprises created by developers. In 2023, WoW Classic Hardcore was introduced, offering the most intense challenge yet. In this brutal mode, every character has just one life with no second chances.
In 2024, World of Warcraft Classic saw major updates, including the launch of Season of Discovery, WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Edition realms—also known as Fresh WoW Classic, and the release of Cataclysm Classic.
In 2025, Mists of Pandaria Classic is about to drop. Meanwhile, Fresh Classic realms will take players through the full progression, from Phase 1 all the way to Phase 6, eventually leading into Burning Crusade.
Season of Discovery
Season of Discovery (SoD) was introduced to the vanilla version of WoW Classic, bringing a refreshing twist to the nostalgic world of Azeroth. Blizzard set out to create something that felt both familiar and entirely new, and they absolutely nailed it.
SoD reimagines core elements of classic WoW by introducing bold new mechanics and class flexibility. Ever wanted to heal as a Mage or tank as a Rogue? Now you can do that with the new Rune Engraving system and unlock unique abilities that completely shake up traditional class roles. You can even start smashing mobs with Crusader Strike from the very beginning.
The update also added new gear, recipes, and profession content, while faction reputations now offer fresh rewards. On top of that, new raids and open-world PvP events were introduced to keep the world alive and unpredictable.
Originally planned as a 5-phase seasonal mode, Season of Discovery expanded to 8 phases due to overwhelming player support despite hiccups along the way. While development for SoD is wrapping up in 2025, Blizzard has confirmed that SoD servers will remain online, giving players continued access to this unique slice of Classic WoW.
If you love Azeroth and the thrill of exploration with a twist, Season of Discovery is still one of the best reasons to jump back into WoW.
Mists of Pandaria Classic
Mists of Pandaria is officially coming to World of Warcraft Classic, giving players a chance to relive one of WoW’s most visually stunning and fan-favorite expansions. With the return of the Monk class, the Pandaren race, and revamped early leveling content, this is a nostalgic journey that longtime fans and new players alike won’t want to miss.
To get players excited for Mists of Pandaria Classic, Blizzard is rolling out special rewards across both WoW Classic and Retail. If you defeat Dreadlord Balnazzar in the Scarlet Enclave raid before June 30, you’ll earn a free Level 85 character boost on July 1, just in time to jump straight into Pandaria when it launches on July 21.
Retail players are also in for a treat. If you can complete the Pandaren starting zone in Mists of Pandaria Classic by July 30, you’ll unlock the Shaohao’s Sage Serpent mount in modern World of Warcraft.
WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Edition realms
The biggest draw of Fresh Classic servers is the complete reset. Everyone starts from level one with no paid boosts, no pre-purchased gear, and no inflated gold markets. While bots and gold sellers haven’t vanished entirely, their impact is much lower in the early days of a fresh realm. That clean start brings back the thrill of progression: every dungeon run, rare drop, and level-up feels truly earned.
These launches often attract huge waves of players, including popular streamers. Fresh starts are a content creator’s dream, turning the server launch into a social event filled with leveling races, community-driven goals, and non-stop nostalgia. It’s common to see entire guilds, friend groups, and fan communities rallying around the hype.
WoW Hardcore
Hardcore servers, where one death means character’s deletion. This high-stakes tension has created a unique scene of its own. Streamers like Sodapoppin and guilds like OnlyFangs have helped turn Hardcore WoW into a massive content playground, complete with survival challenges, community events, and viewer-driven drama.
Whether you’re aiming for a server-first achievement, craving a clean slate, or just want to see how long you can survive without dying, Classic Hardcore offers a one-of-a-kind experience that modern MMOs rarely match.
Final Verdict: Should You Play WoW in 2025?
Yes, you should play WoW in 2025, especially if you’re a fan of MMORPGs.
There’s a reason WoW remains the king of the genre after two decades. It offers a massive, living world packed with content for every type of player. From epic raids, Mythic+ dungeons, PvP battles, to deep storylines rich in lore, there’s always something to dive into.
What makes 2025 truly different is how actively Blizzard is listening to the community and making the game more accessible than ever. Developers are working hard to bring fan-requested features and quality-of-life improvements into the game. For many players, WoW is finally reclaiming the spark that made it legendary in the first place.
So, what do you think? Are you ready to return to Azeroth? Or are you still on the fence? Let us know in the comments below!
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