Warcraft Timeline and Chronology

Warcraft started as a strategy game and quickly evolved into one of the most expansive and popular gaming franchises of all time, particularly with World of Warcraft, the RPGMMO. This is the Warcraft timeline.

What’s on the Warcraft Timeline?

This is the unofficial Warcraft timeline that includes the main games, the novels, the comics, and the 2016 feature film and its tie-ins. This timeline also includes many of the short stories that can be found online.

Many of these stories take place over multiple eras, but we keep to the house rule that a story is placed on the timeline based on where it ends, and we do not split up the media. This makes the timeline easier to follow and read. So with that said, we hope you enjoy this timeline and reading order for all of the Warcraft stories in chronological order.

Where to Start?

There are a number of good places to start with the Warcraft franchise, and it’s not an exact science. In large part, it will depend on your tastes. If you’re a fan of strategy games, we recommend Warcraft III, which has recently been remastered. But if you’re an MMO fan, start with World of Warcraft. In both cases, we don’t recommend you read the books or comics until you’re familiar with at least one of these games.

The film is another good place to start for those who don’t want a heavy time commitment, but keep in mind that the film does not fully represent the expansive scope of the franchise, nor will it represent the joy you may or may not have with the games themselves.

#	Get It	Name	Media	Author/Director	Date	Time	Notes
1	Check Price	Warcraft Saga	Comic Issue	Chris Metzen	2014-08-01	Prehistory	Collected in World of Warcraft: Annual 2015
2		Death From Above	Short Story	Robert Brooks	Unknown	-13,000	Found online.
3	Check Price	The First Guardian	Comic Issue	Louise Simonson	2009-09-01	-2,600	Collected in Legends: Vol. 5
4	Check Price	A Warrior Made, Part 1	Comic Issue	Christie Golden	2009-06-16	-45	Collected in Legends: Vol. 4
5	Check Price	A Warrior Made, Part 2	Comic Issue	Christie Golden	2009-09-01	-45	Collected in Legends: Vol. 5
6		Blackhand	Comic Issue	Robert Brooks	2014-10-10	-45	Found online.
7		Blood and Thunder	Comic Issue	Raphael Ahad	2015-03-05	-45	Found online.
8	Check Price	Family Values	Comic Issue	Aaron Sparrow	2008-11-11	-1	Collected in Legends: Vol. 2
9		Warcraft: Orcs and Humans	Game	Bill Roper	1994-11-23	0
10	Check Price	The Last Guardian	Novel	Jeff Grubb	2016-11-15	0
11	Check Price	Warcraft: Bonds of Brotherhood	Graphic Novel	Paul Cornell	2016-06-07	0
12	Check Price	Durotan	Novel	Christie Golden	2016-05-03	0
13	Check Price	Warcraft	Film	Duncan Jones	2016-06-10	0
14	Check Price	Warcraft: The Official Movie Novelization	Novel	Christie Golden	2016-06-07	0
15		Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness	Game	Chris Metzen	1995-12-09	6
16	Check Price	Tides of Darkness	Novel	Glenn Rane	2007-08-28	6
17		Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal	Game	Duane Stinnett	1996-05-16	8
18	Check Price	Beyond the Dark Portal	Novel	Aaron Rosenberg	2008-06-24	8
19	Check Price	Day of the Dragon	Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2001-02-01	10
20		Unbroken	Short Story	Micky Neilson	Unknown	10	Found online.
21		Road to Damnation	Short Story	Evelyn Fredericksen	Unknown	10	Found online.
22	Check Price	Of Blood and Honor	Short Story	Chris Metzen	2006-10-24	19
23	Check Price	Lord of the Clans	Novel	Christie Golden	2016-11-15	19
24	Check Price	Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos	Game	Nicholas S. Carpenter	2002-06-25	20
25		Vol'jin: The Judgement	Short Story	Brian Kindregan	Unknown	20	Found online.
26	Check Price	Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne	Game	Nicholas S. Carpenter	2003-06-01	22
27	Check Price	The Sunwell Trilogy	Graphic Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2007-10-16	23
28	Check Price	War of the Ancients: The Well of Eternity	Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2004-04-01	23	Frame story takes place here.
29	Check Price	War of the Ancients: The Demon Soul	Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2004-11-01	23	Frame story takes place here.
30	Check Price	War of the Ancients: The Sundering	Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2005-08-01	23	Frame story takes place here.
31	Check Price	A Cleansing Fire	Comic Issue	Evelyn Fredericksen	2009-09-01	24	Collected in Legends: Vol. 5
32	Check Price	Cycle of Hatred	Novel	Keith R. A. DeCandido	2006-02-01	24
33	Check Price	World of Warcraft	Game	Michael Chu	2004-11-23	25
34		The War Effort	Short Story		Unknown	25	Found online.
35		War of the Shifting Sands	Short Story	Micky Neilson	Unknown	25	Found online.
36	Check Price	The Thrill of the Hunt	Comic Issue	Troy Lewter	2009-03-10	25	Collected in Legends: Vol. 3
37	Check Price	Bloodsail Buccaneer	Comic Issue	Dan Jolley	2009-06-16	25	Collected in Legends: Vol. 4
38	Check Price	How to Win Friends	Comic Issue	Dan Jolley	2008-08-12	25	Collected in Legends: Vol. 1
39	Check Price	Miles to Go	Comic Issue	Dan Jolley	2008-11-11	25	Collected in Legends: Vol. 2
40	Check Price	An Honest Trade	Comic Issue	Troy Lewter	2008-08-12	25	Collected in Legends: Vol. 1
41	Check Price	Warrior: Divided	Comic Issue	Grace Randolph	2008-11-11	25	Collected in Legends: Vol. 2
42	Check Price	Warrior: United	Comic Issue	Grace Randolph	2009-09-01	25	Collected in Legends: Vol. 5
43	Check Price	Shadow Wing, Vol. 1: The Dragons of Outland	Graphic Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2010-06-01	26
44	Check Price	Shadow Wing, Vol. 2: Nexus Point	Graphic Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2011-03-01	26
45	Check Price	World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade	Game	Michael Chu	2007-01-16	26
46	Check Price	Rise of the Horde	Novel	Christie Golden	2006-12-26	26	Ends at this point in the timeline.
47	Check Price	The Journey	Comic Issue	Troy Lewter	2008-08-12	26	Collected in Legends: Vol. 1
48	Check Price	Crusader's Blood	Comic Issue	Dan Jolley	2009-03-10	26	Collected in Legends: Vol. 3
49	Check Price	I Got What Yule Needs	Comic Issue	Christie Golden	2009-03-10	26	Collected in Legends: Vol. 3
50	Check Price	Blood Runs Thicker	Comic Issue	Tim Beedle	2009-06-16	26	Collected in Legends: Vol. 4
51		World of Warcraft - The Comic, Vol. 1	Graphic Novel	Walter Simonson	2008-08-12	26
52	Check Price	Night of the Dragon	Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2008-11-18	27
53		World of Warcraft - The Comic, Vol. 2	Graphic Novel	Walter Simonson	2009-09-01	27
54	Check Price	Arthas: Rise of the Lich King	Novel	Christie Golden	2009-04-21	27
55	Check Price	World of Warcraft - The Comic, Vol. 3	Graphic Novel	Walter Simonson	2011-04-05	27
56	Check Price	World of Warcraft - The Comic, Vol. 4	Graphic Novel	Walter Simonson	2011-08-30	27
57	Check Price	Mage	Comic Issue	Richard A. Knaak	2010-06-01	27
58		In the Shadow of the Sun	Short Story	Sarah Pine	Unknown	27	Found online.
59	Check Price	Fallen	Comic Issue	Richard A. Knaak	2008-08-12	27	Collected in Legends: Vol. 1
60	Check Price	Fear	Comic Issue	Richard A. Knaak	2008-11-11	27	Collected in Legends: Vol. 2
61	Check Price	Fiend	Comic Issue	Richard A. Knaak	2009-03-10	27	Collected in Legends: Vol. 3
62	Check Price	Fate	Comic Issue	Richard A. Knaak	2009-06-16	27	Collected in Legends: Vol. 4
63	Check Price	World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King	Game	Brigitte Burdine	2008-11-13	27
64	Check Price	Death Knight	Comic Issue	Dan Jolley	2009-12-01	27
65		Li Li's Travel Journal (parts 1-4)	Short Story	N/A	2012-08-31	27	Found online.
66	Check Price	Pearl of Pandaria	Comic Issue	Micky Neilson	2012-09-25	27
67		Glory	Short Story	Evelyn Fredericksen	Unknown	27	Found online.
68		Heart of War	Short Story	Sarah Pine	Unknown	27	Found online.
69	Check Price	Stormrage	Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2010-02-23	27
70	Check Price	Shaman	Comic Issue	Paul Benjamin	2010-09-28	27
71	Check Price	The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm	Novel	Christie Golden	2010-10-19	27
72		Cut Short	Short Story	Cameron Dayton	Unknown	28	Found online.
73	Check Price	Dark Riders	Comic Issue	Mike Costa	2014-05-13	28
74		Curse of the Worgen	Comic Issue	Micky Neilson, James Waugh	2012-10-09	28	Ends at this point in the timeline.
75		Edge of Night	Short Story	Dave Kosak	Unknown	28	Found online.
76		Seeds of Faith	Short Story	Valerie Watrous	Unknown	28	Found online.
77		Fire and Iron	Short Story	Matt Burns	Unknown	28	Found online.
78	Check Price	World of Warcraft: Cataclysm	Game	Marc Messenger, Terran Gregory	2010-12-07	28
79	Check Price	Bloodsworn	Comic Issue	Doug Wagner	2014-08-12	28
80		Trade Secrets of a Trade Prince	Short Story	Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie	Unknown	28	Found online.
81		As Our Fathers Before Us	Short Story	Stevie Nix	Unknown	28	Found online.
82		Lord of His Pack	Short Story	James Waugh	Unknown	28	Found online.
83	Check Price	Wolfheart	Novel	Richard A. Knaak	2011-09-13	28
84		Prophet's Lesson	Short Story	Marc Hutcheson	Unknown	28	Found online.
85		Blood of Our Fathers	Short Story	Dan Arey	Unknown	28	Found online.
86	Check Price	Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects	Novel	Christie Golden	2011-07-19	28
87		Charge of the Aspects	Short Story	Matt Burns	2011-12-06	28	Found online.
88		Quest for Pandaria	Novel	Sarah Pine	2012-09-24	30	Found online.
89	Check Price	Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War	Novel	Christie Golden	2012-08-28	30
90	Check Price	World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria	Game	Terran Gregory	2012-09-25	30
91		Li Li's Travel Journal (parts 5-11)	Short Story	N/A	2012-08-31	30	Found online.
92		The Trial of the Red Blossoms	Novel	Cameron Dayton	2013-02-15	30	Found online.
93		Bleeding Sun	Short Story	Matt Burns	Unknown	30	Found online.
94		Dawn of the Aspects	Short Story	Richard A. Knaak	2013-11-19	30	Short story anthology connected by a frame story that ends here.
95	Check Price	Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde	Novel	Michael A. Stackpole	2013-07-02	30
96		The Blank Scroll	Short Story	Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie	Unknown	30	Found online.
97		The Strength of Steel	Short Story	Raphael Ahad	Unknown	30	Found online.
98		The Jade Hunters	Short Story	Matt Burns	Unknown	30	Found online.
99		Over Water	Short Story	Ryan Quinn	Unknown	30	Found online.
100		The Untamed Valley	Short Story	Robert Brooks	Unknown	30	Found online.
101	Check Price	War Crimes	Novel	Christie Golden	2014-05-06	30
102		Hellscream	Short Story	Robert Brooks	Unknown	30	Found online.
103		Gul'dan and the Stranger	Comic Issue	Micky Neilson	2014-08-07	31	Found online.
104		Code of Rule	Short Story	Ryan Quinn	Unknown	31	Found online.
105	Check Price	World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor	Game	Terran Gregory	2014-11-13	31
106		Apocrypha	Short Story	Matt Burns	Unknown	31	Found online.
107	Check Price	Illidan	Novel	William King	2016-04-12	31
108		Traveler	Novel	Greg Weisman	2016-10-25	31
109		Traveler: The Spiral Path	Novel	Greg Weisman	2018-02-27	31
110		Traveler: The Shining Blade	Novel	Greg Weisman	2019-12-26	31
111	Check Price	World of Warcraft: Legion	Game	Tom Chilton	2016-08-30	31
112	Check Price	Before the Storm	Novel	Christie Golden	2018-06-12	31