World of Warcraft has run a modern PvE / Mythic+ season cadence since Battle for Azeroth Season 1 opened on September 4, 2018, and Blizzard has shipped 16 completed seasons across five expansions since, with Midnight Season 2 live now as the 17th cycle on the timeline. Modern seasons average 170 days, but durations have swung from a tight 84-day Shadowlands Season 4 bridge to a holiday-spanning 321-day Battle for Azeroth Season 4 that absorbed the Shadowlands launch delay. This is the complete record of every World of Warcraft season since the BfA era began, with exact start dates, end dates, and the cadence pattern most other lists skip.
- Total Modern Seasons
- 17 (16 completed + 1 live)
- Shortest
- Shadowlands S4 · 84 days
- Longest
- Battle for Azeroth S4 · 321 days
- Average Length
- ~170 days (16 completed seasons)
The open Midnight interval is included in the timeline. Current end-date estimates and confirmation status are maintained on the World of Warcraft season timer.
How World of Warcraft Seasons Work
Blizzard structures every modern WoW season around a raid tier + Mythic+ Keystone rotation + PvP arena reset, all opening within the same week. Each season ships a new headline raid, a fresh eight-dungeon Mythic+ pool, a Vault and gear upgrade track tied to the season’s item-level ceiling, and PvP titles awarded at the cycle’s close.
The cadence has shifted twice in noticeable ways. Battle for Azeroth Season 4 ran an outlier 321 days because Shadowlands’ November 2020 launch slipped twice, leaving BfA’s PvP and Mythic+ rotations frozen in place until December 2020. Shadowlands Season 4 then went the other direction, a deliberate 84-day bridge that recycled three earlier Shadowlands raids on Fated difficulty to fill the runway before Dragonflight. From Dragonflight onward, Blizzard settled into a tighter ~140–190 day rhythm, with Season 4 typically functioning as a “bonus” cycle when the next expansion is more than a quarter away.
When the current season ends, and what resets or carries over when it does, is covered on the World of Warcraft season end date page, next to the live timer.
All World of Warcraft Seasons: Complete Timeline
Below is every WoW modern season from Battle for Azeroth Season 1 forward, sorted newest to oldest. Dates are the official launch and end timestamps published by Blizzard on the U.S. region (EU resets land roughly 24 hours later).
Live Season: Midnight (2026 – present)
| Season | Patch | Start Date | End Date | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midnight S2 (live) | 12.1 | Aug 18, 2026 | Open | - |
| Midnight S1 | 12.0 | Mar 17, 2026 | Aug 18, 2026 | 154 |
Midnight Season 2 went live on August 18, 2026 at the weekly reset, one week after Patch 12.1: Curse of Ula’tek launched on August 11. Season 2 opens the Coiled Isle east of Zul’Aman with the Venomous Abyss raid (Ula’tek as the final boss), the Altar of Fangs dungeon in a new Mythic+ pool, fresh tier sets, three new Delves, and PvP Season 2. The prior cycle, Midnight Season 1 (Mar 17 – Aug 18, 2026), ran two Voidstorm raids (Voidspire and Dreamrift) plus March on Quel’Danas across ~154 days, the short end of the TWW 154–175-day pattern. Blizzard has not yet set a Season 2 end date; live estimates track on the WoW season timer.
The War Within (2024–2026)
| Season | Patch | Start Date | End Date | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWW S3 | 11.2 | Aug 5, 2025 | Jan 20, 2026 | 168 |
| TWW S2 | 11.1 | Mar 4, 2025 | Aug 5, 2025 | 154 |
| TWW S1 | 11.0 | Sep 10, 2024 | Mar 4, 2025 | 175 |
TWW subtotal: 3 seasons across 497 days, average 165.7 days. TWW Season 1 anchored the Nerub-ar Palace raid and the eight-dungeon Mythic+ pool that introduced the new Delves solo-progression system. Season 2 launched alongside Patch 11.1 with Liberation of Undermine, and Season 3 closed the expansion with Manaforge Omega before Midnight’s March 2026 expansion launch.
Dragonflight (2022–2024)
| Season | Patch | Start Date | End Date | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF S4 | 10.2.7 | Apr 23, 2024 | Jul 22, 2024 | 90 |
| DF S3 | 10.2 | Nov 14, 2023 | Apr 22, 2024 | 160 |
| DF S2 | 10.1 | May 9, 2023 | Nov 13, 2023 | 188 |
| DF S1 | 10.0 | Dec 13, 2022 | May 2, 2023 | 140 |
Dragonflight subtotal: 4 seasons across 578 days, average 144.5 days. Dragonflight Season 1 opened with the Vault of the Incarnates raid; Season 2 brought Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible; Season 3 ran Amirdrassil, the Dream’s Hope through the holiday window; and Season 4 was a bridge cycle that ran all three Dragonflight raids on Awakened (re-tuned) difficulty for a short 90-day runway before The War Within launched on August 26, 2024.
Shadowlands (2020–2022)
| Season | Patch | Start Date | End Date | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SL S4 | 9.2.5 | Aug 2, 2022 | Oct 25, 2022 | 84 |
| SL S3 | 9.2 | Mar 1, 2022 | Aug 1, 2022 | 153 |
| SL S2 | 9.1 | Jul 6, 2021 | Feb 22, 2022 | 231 |
| SL S1 | 9.0 | Dec 8, 2020 | Jun 28, 2021 | 202 |
Shadowlands subtotal: 4 seasons across 670 days, average 167.5 days. Shadowlands Season 1 launched two weeks after the November 2020 expansion release and ran Castle Nathria. Season 2 added Sanctum of Domination and stretched to 231 days as Patch 9.2 slipped. Season 3 brought the expansion-closing Sepulcher of the First Ones raid, and Season 4 then introduced Fated raids, Nathria, Sanctum, and Sepulcher rotated weekly on Mythic difficulty, as the shortest WoW season on the modern record at just 84 days.
Battle for Azeroth (2018–2020)
| Season | Patch | Start Date | End Date | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BfA S4 | 8.3 | Jan 21, 2020 | Dec 7, 2020 | 321 |
| BfA S3 | 8.2 | Jul 9, 2019 | Jan 20, 2020 | 195 |
| BfA S2 | 8.1.5 | Jan 22, 2019 | Jul 8, 2019 | 167 |
| BfA S1 | 8.0 | Sep 4, 2018 | Jan 21, 2019 | 139 |
Battle for Azeroth subtotal: 4 seasons across 822 days, average 205.5 days. BfA Season 1 opened with Uldir as the era’s first Azerite-armor raid. Season 2 introduced Battle of Dazar’alor, Season 3 ran the Crucible of Storms / Eternal Palace tier, and Season 4 spanned Ny’alotha, the Waking City plus the Corrupted Mementos system, and stretched to an unprecedented 321 days as Shadowlands’ launch slipped from October to November 2020, leaving Mythic+ and PvP rotations frozen until the new expansion shipped.
Records & Stats Across All WoW Seasons
Longest WoW seasons
- Battle for Azeroth Season 4: 321 days (Jan 21, 2020 → Dec 7, 2020)
- Shadowlands Season 2: 231 days (Jul 6, 2021 → Feb 22, 2022)
- Shadowlands Season 1: 202 days (Dec 8, 2020 → Jun 28, 2021)
- Battle for Azeroth Season 3: 195 days (Jul 9, 2019 → Jan 20, 2020)
- Dragonflight Season 2: 188 days (May 9, 2023 → Nov 13, 2023)
The top three all sit inside the 2020–2022 window, when launch slips on Shadowlands and Patch 9.2 stretched cycles well past Blizzard’s stated target. BfA S4 stands alone as the longest single season on the modern record, almost double the post-Shadowlands average.
Shortest WoW seasons
- Shadowlands Season 4: 84 days (Aug 2, 2022 → Oct 25, 2022)
- Dragonflight Season 4: 90 days (Apr 23, 2024 → Jul 22, 2024)
- Battle for Azeroth Season 1: 139 days (Sep 4, 2018 → Jan 21, 2019)
- Dragonflight Season 1: 140 days (Dec 13, 2022 → May 2, 2023)
- The War Within Season 2: 154 days (Mar 4, 2025 → Aug 5, 2025)
Both sub-100-day cycles are bridge seasons designed to fill the runway before the next expansion. Blizzard used Shadowlands S4 to recycle three Shadowlands raids on Fated difficulty for 84 days, and Dragonflight S4 to rerun all three Dragonflight raids on Awakened difficulty for 90 days. Neither pattern has carried into The War Within, Patch 11.3 closed TWW after Season 3 and rolled straight into Midnight’s pre-patch instead.
Average season length by expansion
| Expansion | Seasons | Avg. duration |
|---|---|---|
| Battle for Azeroth (2018–2020) | 4 | 205.5 days |
| Shadowlands (2020–2022) | 4 | 167.5 days |
| Dragonflight (2022–2024) | 4 | 144.5 days |
| The War Within (2024–2026) | 3 | 165.7 days |
| Midnight (2026 – present) | 2 (1 completed) | 154 days (S1) |
Across the 16 completed modern seasons, the mean duration is 170.1 days, almost exactly the 24-week cycle Blizzard targets internally for a major raid tier. The trend is a slow tightening: BfA averaged 205.5 days, Shadowlands 167.5, Dragonflight 144.5. The War Within nudged the rhythm back up to 165.7 to align with Midnight’s March 2026 launch window, suggesting the cadence is settling near the 150–175 day band rather than continuing to compress.
Are WoW seasons getting shorter?
Partially. BfA averaged 205.5 days but carried the outlier 321-day S4 driven by Shadowlands’ launch slip. Strip that single outlier and the BfA average drops to 167 days, almost identical to Shadowlands (167.5) and TWW (165.7). The genuine compression sat inside Dragonflight (144.5), when Blizzard tried a tighter 4-season-per-expansion cadence. Since then, the rhythm has loosened back toward the historical norm. The 24-week target appears to be Blizzard’s stable plan, with bridge seasons inserted when a content gap to the next expansion exceeds a quarter.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many World of Warcraft seasons have there been?
World of Warcraft has run 16 completed modern seasons since Battle for Azeroth Season 1 opened on September 4, 2018, four BfA seasons, four Shadowlands seasons, four Dragonflight seasons, three The War Within seasons, and Midnight Season 1. Midnight Season 2 is currently live as the 17th modern season. PvP arena seasons existed before BfA (running back to 2007), but the PvE + Mythic+ “Season” structure that the modern cadence uses began with BfA S1.
How long do WoW seasons usually last?
Modern WoW seasons average 170 days across the 16 completed cycles, or roughly 24 weeks. The realistic band is 140–200 days once outliers are removed. Two outliers sit outside that range: Battle for Azeroth Season 4 stretched to 321 days waiting for Shadowlands to launch, and Shadowlands Season 4 ran a deliberately short 84-day Fated bridge.
What was the longest WoW season ever?
Battle for Azeroth Season 4 at 321 days (January 21, 2020 → December 7, 2020). Patch 8.3 carried Ny’alotha, the Waking City and the Corrupted Mementos system; the season then stretched the better part of a year because Shadowlands’ launch slipped from October to November 2020, leaving Mythic+ and PvP rotations frozen until Dec 8, 2020.
What was the shortest WoW season?
Shadowlands Season 4 at 84 days (August 2, 2022 → October 25, 2022). Blizzard deliberately compressed the cycle to bridge the runway to Dragonflight’s November 2022 launch, recycling Castle Nathria, Sanctum of Domination, and Sepulcher of the First Ones on weekly-rotating Fated difficulty.
Does Mythic+ score carry between WoW seasons?
No. Mythic+ rating and seasonal Keystone achievements reset at every season boundary. The previous season’s Keystone Master and Keystone Hero achievements lock in permanently the moment the cycle closes; they cannot be earned retroactively in a later season.
Data sourced from Blizzard Entertainment’s official season announcements at news.blizzard.com, cross-referenced with our season records. Last updated August 19, 2026.