Blizzard released the first episode of Planet Azeroth, a new official video series for World of Warcraft: Forever, on October 28. The episode runs 6 minutes 47 seconds, is narrated by Bill Bailey, and is live on the official World of Warcraft YouTube channel, which lists it as published October 28 — it had passed 640,000 views at the time of writing. The official description sets the premise: "Join Bill Bailey on a new adventure in search of Azeroth's most remarkable creatures in the first episode of Planet Azeroth."

A 6:47 route from Elwynn Forest to the Barrens

The episode plays it straight as a nature documentary: deadpan narration, cameras tracking "wildlife". The route runs from the timber wolves of Elwynn Forest past Goldshire and Crystal Lake — murlocs by the water, kobolds in the holes — over to the Valley of Trials in Durotar, where orc peons go about their hauling, and through Tirisfal Glades before stopping in the Barrens with its kodo beasts and Bristleback quilboar. It also films the zone's real landmark: Barrens chat, "the WhatsApp group from hell" in the episode's words. The last stop loops back to Elwynn Forest for a punchline at Hogger's expense.

Wowhead's report boils the episode down to "wolves, boars and the Barrens Chat", and describes the series as touring "some of the iconic creatures and locations of Azeroth". MMO-Champion's same-day post agrees: "Blizzard has released Episode 1 of a new Planet Azeroth series for WoW: Forever, featuring Bill Bailey on a search for Azeroth's most remarkable creatures."

A week out from launch

The timing is deliberate. WoW: Forever launches globally on November 5 (per Blizzard's China-published calendar), and the video landed a week before it, after a busy stretch of official moves: the beta closed permanently on October 24, pre-purchase name reservations opened October 27 and run until 11:59 PM November 3 Beijing time, and the first three raids — Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20, Onyxia for 40 — all open on December 9. Whether Planet Azeroth becomes a recurring fixture is something Blizzard has not said.

Not announced

Beyond the "first episode" label, Blizzard has not announced the total episode count, a release cadence, an Episode 2 date, subtitles, or how — or whether — the series will be distributed in the China region.

What players can do now

  • Watch the episode (6:47, no queue): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxTWMv5h-JE
  • Reserve a character name before 11:59 PM (Beijing time) on November 3;
  • Mark the calendar: launch on November 5, raids on December 9 — raid schedules can be drawn up today.