World of Warcraft -- Codex Azeroth (PC)
The full and complete history of the Warcraft universe!
By Blizzard Team | Nov. 19, 2004

For all the excitement about the release of Blizzard's first MMO, the company is certainly no newbie when it comes to building compelling worlds. Indeed, World of Warcraft is the culmination of an intellectual property that's been building up since the release of 1994's Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. The storyline continued building through the release of Blizzard's classic RTS games including Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, and the latest edition of the game, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

For all the success that those games enjoyed, though there will certainly be players who will enter the World of Warcraft without enjoying the previous RTS games. The thing is, though, as you travel about the lands of Azeroth, you'll experience quests and stories that have their roots thousands of years in the past. Do you know, for example, know why the Orcs spent so much time clashing with the humans? Do you know who the Burning Legion is? Have you got any idea why the Forsaken are different than the Scourge and why that difference matters not a whit to the Scarlet Crusade? If you don't, don't worry about it, because GameSpy and Blizzard have teamed up to bring you this, the complete history of the World of Warcraft.

Editors Note: Spoiler Alert! The information in the Codex Azeroth is a compilation of the information revealed in the three classic Warcraft RTS games from Blizzard as well as their attendant expansion packs along with the official Warcraft novelizations. While nothing in here will spoil the World of Warcraft experience, players who wish to play one of the earlier games may find out things they do not wish to know.

Azeroth Part I - In the Beginning

No one knows exactly how the universe began. Some theorize that a catastrophic cosmic explosion sent the infinite worlds spinning out into the vastness of the Great Dark. Others believe that the universe was created as a whole by a single, all-powerful entity. Though the exact origins of the chaotic universe remain uncertain, it was the Titans, colossal, metallic-skinned gods from the far reaches of the cosmos, who explored the newborn universe and set to work on the worlds they encountered. They raised mighty mountains and dredged out vast seas. They breathed atmospheres into being. It was all part of their plan to create order out of chaos. They even empowered primitive races to tend to their works and maintain the integrity of their respective worlds.

The Titans brought order to a hundred million worlds during the first ages. They were also ever-vigilant against the vile, extra-dimensional entities of the Twisting Nether. The Nether was home to an infinite number of malefic, demonic beings who sought only to destroy life and devour the energies of the living universe.

• Sargeras and the Betrayal
• Codex Azeroth
• The Birth of Azeroth
• The Birth of Azeroth 2
• The Sundering of the World
• the centuries passed
• Part II - The Doom of Draenor
• Rise of the Horde
• exiled Frostwolves charged
• Lothar and his warriors
• Part III - The Alliance of Lordaeron
• the wayward orcs
• new Orcish
• The Birth of the Lich King
• The Battle of Grim Batol
• The New Horde
• War of the Spider
• The Forming of the Scourge
• The Alliance Splinters
• Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
• Archimonde's Return and the Flight to Kalimdo
• The Battle of Mount Hyjal
• Part VI - The Betrayer Ascendant
• Civil War in the Plaguelands
• The Lich King Triumphant
• Old Hatreds -- The Colonization of Kalimdor