Blizzard’s legendary MMORPG has been around since 2004, which means next year, World of Warcraft will turn 20 years old! With the Dragonflight expansion released at the end of 2022, it can be said that the game is still very much alive. The number of players is certainly lower than it was in the peak popularity days that this MMO once had, but the longevity of this title is certainly a huge feat nevertheless.
If you want to return to WoW, or maybe try the game out of pure curiosity – let’s find out if you can do it for free, without paying a monthly subscription.
Is World of Warcraft Free?
So, can you play World of Warcraft for free? The answer is – well, you kinda can, but it’s complicated. You can download World of Warcraft Starter Edition completely free – but there are limitations. If you have played World of Warcraft before, with the Starter Edition you will not be able to access your old characters, because the Starter Edition will be created as a new account – it is only there for new players.
Related: All World of Warcraft Expansions in Order – Listed
Also, if you played World of Warcraft Classic, these characters will not be available in the Starter Edition, either. However, if you are completely new, in the free Starter Edition you can create a brand new character and start your World of Warcraft adventure with the following restrictions:
- You can level up any character only up to level 20.
- Can’t earn more than 1000 gold per character.
- There are some limitations to public chats.
- Cant participate in Pet Battles.
- All guild-related functions are off.
- Can’t form a party.
- Can’t trade, mail, or use the Auction House.
- Can’t have a Real ID.
- Can’t use World of Warcraft voice chat.
With the payment of the first subscription, all these limitations can be removed, but sometimes it takes 24 hours in order for the status of the account to change from Starter to regular Retail.
It is never too late to start your World of Warcraft story, we are sure that even after these 20 years, the game will continue to get more expansions, and there’s always room for some new players.
