World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) set in the Warcraft universe. Players assume the roles of Warcraft heroes as they explore, adventure, and quest across a vast…

86 23 November 2004

Adventure Role-playing (RPG) Action Fantasy Open world Warfare

World of Warcraft is an adventure developed by Blizzard Entertainment, released 23 November 2004 on Mac and PC (Microsoft Windows). The main story takes about 6,616.7 hrs to finish.

Verified 18 Oct 2026 Sources: IGDB , Wikipedia

What World of Warcraft is

World of Warcraft is an adventure game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and released in 2004. It is available on Mac and PC (Microsoft Windows).

The premise, in the publisher's words

Intent on settling the arid region of Durotar, Thrall's new Horde expanded its ranks, inviting the undead Forsaken to join orcs, tauren, and trolls. Meanwhile, dwarves, gnomes and the ancient night elves pledged their loyalties to a reinvigorated Alliance, guided by the human kingdom of Stormwind. After Stormwind's king, Varian Wrynn, mysteriously disappeared, Highlord Bolvar Fordragon served as Regent but his service was marred by the manipulations and mind control of the black dragon Onyxia, who ruled in disguise as a human noblewoman. As heroes investigated Onyxia's manipulations, ancient foes surfaced in lands throughout the world to menace Horde and Alliance alike.

Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a third person perspective. Its themes are action, fantasy, open world and warfare. Available modes: Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) and Multiplayer.

Where it sits in the Warcraft series

World of Warcraft is the eighth of 69 entries we hold in the Warcraft series. It arrived a year after Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The next entry was World of Warcraft: Collector's Edition in 2004. Its critic score of 86 is 6 points above the series average of 80. The highest-rated entry is World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King at 97.

See all 69 Warcraft games in release order →

How it was received

World of Warcraft holds a critic score of 86 out of 100. That places it above 86% of the 7,527 rated adventure games in our database, which average 72. Games released in 2004 averaged 70, so it scored 16 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 85, across 905 votes.

How long it takes, and what that costs

The main story runs about 6,616.7 hrs. Completing everything takes closer to 14,780 hrs, roughly 2.2 times the length of the critical path.

What it launched against

World of Warcraft launched on 23 November 2004, within three weeks of Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. It reviewed better than 1 of the 4.

Released around the same time: Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for World of Warcraft yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

Know one? Send it in and we will test it →