TBC Anniversary Release Date and Phase Roadmap

The Anniversary realms entered The Burning Crusade when the Dark Portal opened on February 5, 2026, a few weeks after the pre-patch in January. Since then three more phases have gone live, and the realms are now in Phase 4, The Gods of Zul’Aman, which started on October 22, 2026. Sunwell Plateau is the last raid still missing, and Blizzard has not announced a date for it yet.

When did TBC Anniversary come out?

The Anniversary realms themselves are older than TBC. They launched fresh on November 21, 2024 as Classic realms, and the same realms with the same characters moved on into The Burning Crusade. There was no separate fresh launch for TBC.

The pre-expansion patch arrived on January 13, 2026 in the Americas after maintenance. Europe got it with its own regional maintenance, and the German announcement named January 14. The pre-patch made Blood Elves and Draenei playable. The Dark Portal opened worldwide at one moment: February 5, 2026 at 15:00 PST, which was 23:00 UTC and midnight on February 6 in Central Europe. With the Dark Portal the level cap rose to 70 and Outland opened.

TBC Anniversary phase roadmap

The dates are the US opening days. Europe usually got a phase at midnight of the following day, as explained in the section on release times below.

Phase numbers are the ones players use. Blizzard names the updates, such as Overlords of Outland or The Gods of Zul’Aman, and does not number them. How each raid plays and what it drops is in our TBC Anniversary dungeons and raids guide.

Phase 1: the Dark Portal and the T4 raids

For the first two weeks there was no raid at all, which gave everyone time to level and run dungeons. The T4 raids Karazhan, Gruul’s Lair and Magtheridon’s Lair opened on February 19, 2026 at 15:00 PST, which was midnight on February 20 in Europe. Arena Season 1 started with the weekly reset, on February 17 in the Americas and February 18 in Europe. The Guild Bank was there from the first day of TBC on these realms.

Phase 2: Overlords of Outland

Phase 2 went live on May 14, 2026 and opened the T5 raids, Serpentshrine Cavern with six bosses and Tempest Keep: The Eye with four. Leotheras, Fathom-Lord Karathress and Lady Vashj in Serpentshrine and Void Reaver and Kael’thas in The Eye each drop three T5 tokens. Outside the raids it brought two daily factions, Ogri’la in the Blade’s Edge Mountains and the Sha’tari Skyguard in Skettis, and it unlocked the druid questline for Swift Flight Form, which needs level 70 and Artisan Riding.

Phase 3: Black Temple

Phase 3 started on August 27, 2026 at 15:00 PDT, which was midnight on August 28 in Europe. It added Black Temple with nine bosses and the Battle for Mount Hyjal with five. At launch Hyjal needed The Vials of Eternity and Black Temple had its own attunement, and both requirements were removed in Phase 4. The Netherwing daily quests on Netherwing Ledge in Shadowmoon Valley came with this phase, and you need flying to reach them. Epic gems arrived too, and Arena Season 3 began with the weekly reset on September 1 in the Americas and September 2 in Europe.

Phase 4: The Gods of Zul’Aman

The current phase went live on October 22, 2026 at 15:00 PDT, so Europe got it at midnight on October 23. It added Zul’Aman, a 10-player raid with six bosses, no attunement and a three-day lockout. Black Temple and Hyjal lost their attunement, Heroic keys now need only Honored reputation, Heroic dungeons moved to their final, easier difficulty, and many more bosses now drop Badges of Justice. The full list of changes and what to do this phase is in our TBC Anniversary Phase 4 overview.

Phase 5: Sunwell Plateau

Community roadmaps list Sunwell Plateau, a 25-player raid with six bosses, and the Magisters’ Terrace dungeon as the next phase. Blizzard has not announced a date for it. If you want to have your character ready before it opens and you are short on time, our TBC Anniversary services cover the content that is live now.

How long does each phase last?

Blizzard has not set a fixed rhythm. In January 2026 it said there would be more Anniversary content during the year, without naming an interval between phases. The gaps so far have been uneven: 14 weeks from the Dark Portal to Phase 2, 15 weeks from Phase 2 to Phase 3, and only 8 weeks from Phase 3 to Phase 4. Those numbers don’t tell you when Sunwell arrives, so a Sunwell date you read online is a guess until Blizzard posts one.

What is different on Anniversary realms?

Anniversary realms play like TBC, with a few changes that affect how you plan your characters:

• The Guild Bank was there from the start of TBC, while the first Burning Crusade Classic opened it later.
• Raid attunements count for your whole account, so an alt doesn’t repeat the quest chains. Reputation still belongs to each character.
• Players have seen Heroism and Bloodlust reach the whole raid on Anniversary realms since at least Phase 2.
• Blizzard announced dual specialization for the Anniversary realms in November 2024 and said it would come later.
• These realms launched with instant mail between your own characters and without the old buff and debuff limit.
• The group finder works by hand: you list your own group or browse the groups other players have listed.
• Hardcore Anniversary realms do not move to TBC. They stay in Classic.

Release times in North America and Europe

Blizzard opens each phase worldwide at the same moment, usually 15:00 Pacific time. That is in the afternoon in the Americas and around midnight in Central Europe, so European players get every phase on the next calendar day. Arena seasons are different because they start with each region’s weekly reset, which comes on Tuesday in the Americas and on Wednesday in Europe. For the Dark Portal the German announcement gave 00:01 CET, one minute after the global time.

Frequently asked questions

Change Log

• February 5, 2026: TBC Anniversary release date and phase roadmap published.