Closed alpha for the latest WoW expansion will start this week. This was stated in a Developer Update on the offical WoW site.
Later this week, we will send out our first round of invitations to a closed alpha test for Shadowlands.
As testing continues, more players will be able to try their hand at testing the expanison.
This first batch of invitations will mainly go out to long-time WoW players with active accounts in good standing, as well as Blizzard friends and family, along with a limited number of content creators and journalists. This initial wave represents only a small fraction of the pool of testers that will ultimately gain access to the test in the coming months—if you’re interested in helping make Shadowlands better, sign up using the Beta Opt-In link on the Shadowlands home page. Later on, as we engage in focused PvP and raid testing, we’ll also do some targeted invite waves that prioritize players with extensive experience or expertise in those parts of the game.
In the first round of alpha, a full leveling experience in the Bastion zone will be available along with the Necrotic Wake dungeon. New content will be rolled out as progress is made in the development of Shadowlands.