The Burning Crusade Classic is officially coming to Anniversary realms, and Blizzard has now published the final timeline for the transition — including maintenance dates, pre-patch release, and important character transfer deadlines.

Here’s everything you need to know.

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TBC Classic Anniversary Pre-Patch: When Does It Start?

Blizzard has confirmed a 24-hour maintenance for all Anniversary realms:

• Start:
  Monday, January 12 at 3:00 PM PST (Americas & Oceania)
• Duration:
  24 hours
• Result:
  When realms come back online, the Burning Crusade Classic pre-patch will be live on Anniversary realms.

This marks the official beginning of the TBC transition for Anniversary players.

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Important: Character Transfer Deadlines

Blizzard also clarified how character transfers will work around this transition — and the deadlines are strict.

Before Maintenance Begins

Until the servers go offline on January 12 at 3:00 PM PST:

• Free transfers from Anniversary → Classic Era are available
• Hardcore Anniversary → Normal Anniversary transfers are available
  (so your character continues into TBC but is no longer Hardcore)

After Maintenance Starts

Once the maintenance begins:

• All free transfers to Classic Era close
• Any character remaining on Anniversary realms will automatically continue into TBC Classic
• Characters on Hardcore Anniversary that were not transferred will remain locked to their current ruleset

Blizzard strongly recommends transferring early, as last-minute transfers may experience delays or issues.

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What This Means for Players

If you want your character to stay in Classic Era and not advance into TBC, you must transfer before maintenance.

If you want your Hardcore character to continue into TBC, you must first transfer it to a Normal Anniversary realm before maintenance begins.

After that window closes, your choices are locked.

Blizzard Blue Post — Update Schedule for Anniversary Realms
🧵 https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/update-schedule-for-anniversary-realms/2223745