Executive Producer John Hight stated in an official announcement yesterday afternoon that the expansion would be pushed back in the name of further balance and polish, particularly in regard to the endgame.
He states the team is “at a point where the zones, the campaign, the level-up questing experience, and the story we have to tell are essentially ready to share,” but due to player feedback, they would need more time to work on “some interlocking pieces — particularly those related to the endgame.”
Though Shadowlands is being delayed, the pre-patch is still being released on Tuesday, October 13, to bring some of the expansion’s features to the playerbase ahead of time, as previous pre-patches have done.
Blizzard have yet to announce the new release date for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, but they have stated that the release will still be some time in 2020. With only a couple months left in the year, Shadowlands will likely be released in November or December unless it sees another delay into 2021.