World of Warcraft Is Hosting a Welcome Back Weekend

World of Warcraft is kicking off its new storyline, Worldsoul Saga, with The War Within expansion, launching on August 26, 2024. In hopes of bringing back some returning players to the world of Azeroth, Blizzard has announced that inactive World of Warcraft accounts will get full access to the game, including all expansions, from August 1 through August 4 without needing a subscription or Game Time. So if you haven’t had the chance to check out Dragonflight, you can do so along with the Radiant Echoes pre-expansion event.

During the Welcome Back Weekend, players can choose to try the new starting experience from level 1 or opt out and begin in the starting area for their chosen race. Once they reach level 10, they can continue into Dragonflight or speak with Chromie to choose a Timewalking Campaign. This allows them to choose an expansion and continue leveling until they’re ready to enter Khaz Algar at level 70, when The War Within goes live at 3:00 pm Pacific (6:00 pm Eastern) on August 26. For those returning to the MMORPG and short on WoW gold, there’s always the option to buy some.

The Welcome Back Weekend doesn’t apply to WoW Classic, and the new playable Earthen race will only be available with The War Within expansion.