World of Warcraft: Legion Pre-Patch Now Available For Pre-Load, Release Imminent [UPDATE #3]

July 6, 2016

Update #3: Blizzard has confirmed that PvP Season 3 will conclude on July 19th. This makes it very likely that the pre-patch will arrive on July 19th.

Update #2: A news post has been published on the Battle.net Blog. It states the following:

In the weeks following the pre-expansion patch, we’ll be unlocking even more content that leads into the August 30 launch of Legion. We’re still determining the exact timing of these events, but players who pre-purchase Legion can expect to be playing a Demon Hunter around the second or third week of August (no later than August 17 globally). We’ll share more details in the weeks ahead.

Although the post confirms the sequence of events that will come between pre-patch and Legion, it shares no confirmed date for the pre-patch. That said, one leak is stating that the latest internal Blizzard memo moved the release date from July 19th to July 12th, which is next Tuesday. See here and judge the leak for yourself.

Update #1: We have contacted Blizzard which has declined to comment on the pre-patch release date or pre-load.

Original Story: Before World of Warcraft: Legion launches on August 30th, several things will happen. For one, an invasion will strike Azeroth, introducing highly anticipated new content that preludes the expansion. Around this time those who have pre-ordered the expansion will gain access to a new class: the Demon Hunter. But before any of these things will happen, a Legion pre-patch will become available.

Many World of Warcraft players—including myself—are extremely excited about the Legion pre-patch. Not only will it deliver new UI features and an account-wide transmogrification menu, but it has big changes in-store for every class spec. Naturally, many players have been discussing when they expect the pre-patch to debut, hoping that it arrives sooner rather than later.

I am happy to report that the Legion pre-patch is currently available for pre-load on the live servers. I'm currently downloading it alongside thousands of other players. It weighs in at nearly 20 gigabytes, making it one of the largest patches in World of Warcraft history.

If you boot up Battle.net and don't immediately begin downloading the patch, try heading into the Settings menu just right of the Play button. From there, click "Check For Update" to retrieve the patch.

Blizzard is yet to announce when the pre-patch will hit the live environment. What we do know is that patches always debut on Tuesdays during maintenance. We also know that Blizzard gives two-week warnings for the end of each PvP season. Since this update will conclude a PvP season, it is anticipated that Blizzard will give a two-week heads up in anticipation of the patch.

At this point, the rumored date of July 19th seems very probable. Stay tuned for the final word from Blizzard.

Although Jonathan Leack began covering the gaming industry in 2009, his earliest roots date back to 2004 when he wrote his first of many reviews to come. Equipped with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and several information technology certifications, he provides a unique perspective that is technological and business conscious. Having acquired the role of Executive Editor in 2016, his mission is to make GameRevolution a gaming site that thoughtfully considers the consumer perspective, and has a knowledgeable presence of PC gaming, console, hardware, and eSports coverage.

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