World of Warcraft is getting remade in Unreal Engine 5, not by Blizzard, but by a group of creators who operate the fan-run server known as Turtle WoW.
Turtle WoW has existed since 2018, and is a free, unofficial private server that looks to continue the original “Vanilla” version of WoW with an entirely fan-made expansion called Mysteries of Azeroth. The expansion, which takes a different route from Blizzard’s first official WoW expansion, The Burning Crusade, adds different playable races to the Horde and Alliance and additionally introduces features from later WoW expansions, like Transmogrification and Guild Vaults. It also adds new content (including new dungeons and raids) that aim to keep Azeroth relevant, rather than whisking players away to an entirely new planet or continent like in Blizzard’s official WoW expansions.
Now, the creators of Turtle WoW have announced the next step for the fan-run version of Blizzard’s enduring MMORPG: Turtle WoW 2.0. The project is slated to arrive in 2025, and looks to revitalize the old-school MMO by reimagining it in Unreal Engine 5, with enhanced HD visuals and improved lighting and shadows. Turtle WoW 2.0 will include support for existing WoW Classic mods, as well as provide new modding tools that will allow the team to “expand the world like never before,” according to the project’s announcement trailer. At launch, Turtle WoW 2.0 will feature the vanilla version of WoW as well as Turtle WoW’s Mysteries of Azeroth expansion.
Turtle WoW 2.0 will be available on PC, and will additionally be playable on Android devices as well. For those who would rather play with the game’s original visuals, there will be a Legacy Mode that will preserve the old-school graphics.
It’s not the first time fans have imagined what WoW might look like with more modern visuals, with fans having put together Unreal Engine 5 recreations of iconic locations like Orgrimmar in the past. But this goes a step further, letting players experience the entirety of 2004-era WoW with a new set of paint.
Turtle WoW is in many ways similar to Blizzard’s official Season of Discovery servers for WoW Classic, which introduce new abilities for each class as well as new PvP events, raids, items, and quests. The endgame phase for Season of Discovery is slated to arrive on July 11, and will retool the MMO’s max-level experience with dramatically different itemization, class balance, and retooled raids and dungeons.
As for the modern version of WoW, the game’s 10th expansion, The War Within, will release on August 26 and will introduce account-wide progression and a new form of endgame content designed to be played solo or with small groups.
