WoW Season of Discovery countdown: Exact start time and release date

The next era of World of Warcraft Classic, Season of Discovery, is set to begin very, very soon. 

At BlizzCon, the second-ever season for WoW Classic, the Season of Discovery, was announced, with a release date immediately given. In addition to a full-fledged launch date, all of the new features and gameplay systems coming with the fresh-faced season were revealed at BlizzCon, giving players much to be excited about. 

Here’s when WoW Classic Season of Discovery releases worldwide and what exactly you can expect from these seasonal realms.

WoW Season of Discovery release date and time

WoW Classic’s Season of Discovery releases on Nov. 30, 2023 at 3pm CT/ 4pm EST / 6pm BRT / 9pm GMT. While the Americas and Europe will enjoy Season of Discovery exactly on Nov. 30, Australia and Asia will see it launch in the early hours on Dec. 1.

Below, you’ll find a countdown to the exact release time of the Season of Discovery, as well as a time zone converter for the global release.

While other WoW Classic experiences—such as the launches for The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and WoW Classic Hardcore—have been enough to sate players’ thirst in recent years, this upcoming season is likely to be the most off-the-beaten-path update we’ve seen applied to the Classic formula to date.

For players who expected some sort of “Classic+” announcement at BlizzCon this year, the Season of Discovery is going to be the closest thing you’ll see to it. 

Fresh, new content in the existing world of WoW Classic is going to be a major theme in the Season of Discovery, and regardless of how you play WoW, you’re likely going to find a reason to continuously come back to the new season on a regular basis.

North America and Oceania WoW Season of Discovery release dates and times

• Hawaii: 11am HST on Nov. 30
• Alaska: 12pm AKST on Nov. 30
• Los Angeles: 1pm PST on Nov. 30
• Mountain time zone: 2pm MDT on Nov. 30
• Central time zone: 3pm CT on Nov. 30
• New York: 4pm EST on Nov. 30
• Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico: 5pm on Nov. 30
• São Paulo, Brazil: 6pm BRT on Nov. 30
• Sydney, Australia: 8am AEDT on Dec. 1

Europe and Asia WoW Season of Discovery release dates and times

• London, England: 9pm GMT on Nov. 30
• Paris, France: 10pm CEST on Nov. 30
• Istanbul, Turkey: 12am TRT on Dec. 1
• Seoul, South Korea: 6am KST on Dec. 1

What to expect from WoW Season of Discovery

Season of Discovery will look much different from previous versions of WoW Classic, as it will integrate plenty of new gameplay systems for players to explore, including rune-engraving, which will allow players to unlock new abilities and experimental build paths for their classes. Additionally, much of the content players have become familiar with in WoW Classic will get a facelift, including certain dungeons and endgame raids. 

The progressive leveling system will yield itself to incremental updates at each stage of the “endgame” during the Season of Discovery. Instead of only having access to the Classic endgame content that was previously only available at level 60—such as the Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, and other raids—we’ll now be able to experience Classic WoW in bite-sized chunks, with pieces of the game each serving as fresh endgame experiences over a set time.

The first of those experiences will come in the form of the Blackfathom Deeps dungeon, which is being revamped from a five-player dungeon to a 10-player raid. 

The first level cap of Season of Discovery will be set at level 25, meaning players won’t have to spend much time leveling to get the endgame. With each new content phase, though, leveling will once again be part of the experience, and you’ll have to progress through the open-world questing process to get to the next checkpoint of the Season of Discovery’s endgame.