It’s been a long road, but the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands expansion is ticking closer and closer with every day. While we don’t have an exact release date yet, Blizzard seems confident that the title will be out before the end of the year.
On Tuesday, the developers released the prepatch for the title to help bridge the gap between Battle for Azeroth and the Shadowlands expansions. The release wasn’t quite smooth, and there continue to be issues, but it was a huge step towards a full release.
Shadowlands is bringing a massive amount of content and updates, and many of these are graphical. With new customization appearances and the like, Blizzard is adding more than just appearances, bringing features like raytracing into the game.
But not everyone is able to run these sorts of games at this point. Many players are fearing being left in the dust with builds that aren’t able to run the game.
Even during prepatch, one of the more common issues so far has been players being unable to play due to out-of-date cards. Blizzard has suggested upgrading drivers and restarting the game but otherwise, all they can do is suggest players upgrade their cards.
The #Shadowlands Pre-Patch is almost here!
Learn about all the upcoming features in our Shadowlands Pre-Patch Survival Guide – class changes, new character customizations, Chromie Time leveling and more! Oh, AND don't miss our giveaway!https://t.co/h9iFBRYENX#Warcraft pic.twitter.com/K2He3Ij84i
— Wowhead💙 (@Wowhead) October 13, 2020
That said, Blizzard is now looking into a fix to keep players in the game for as long as possible. They announced recently that they’re looking for solutions to allow these players to continue adventuring.
There’s an obvious mutualistic help here. Blizzard finding these fixes is a lovely thing to do for the players that otherwise couldn’t play, but it also keeps the player base as large as possible, continuing to pay their $15 monthly subscription fees.
At the moment, the following are the minimum specs for Shadowlands:
- Windows 7 64-bit
- Intel Core i5-3450 or AMD FX 8300
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 2 GB / AMD Radeon RX 560 2 GB / Intel UHD Graphics 630 (45W TDP)
- 4GB RAM
- 100GB SSD or HDD
- Internet, keyboard and mouse, 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution
These are the absolute minimum specs, and you’ll want significantly better if you want to comfortably run the game at any real quality. While the game will be playable with the above specs, your computer will just barely be chugging along.
With any luck, Blizzard will be able to get the expansion’s content working with lower-tier and outdated cards to keep as many people in the game as possible. Not everyone is able to afford an upgrade at all times, so Blizzard working to keep them in the game is definitely commendable.
