Blizzard Entertainment recently announced the triumphant return of World of Warcraft Classic set for August 27th, 2019. Upon the release of the Beta on May 15, 2019, World of Warcraft Classic was the most viewed game on premiere livestream platform Twitch.tv. 

Blizzard Entertainment announced a worldwide testing schedule for the Beta on May 15:

Beginning May 15, select WoW players will be invited to participate in a small-scale, focused closed beta test. Players will also get a chance to help put our servers and technology through their paces in a series of stress tests running from May through July—you can opt in now through Account Management and select the WoW Classic beta.

Subsequent stress tests will extend the opportunity to even more players. Level caps will also be in place to ensure we’re emphasizing the “stress” in “stress test”

The return of WoW Classic was well-received across multiple gaming communities, but claiming the top spot on the Twitch rankings in day one of the Beta surpassed the expectations of even the most optimistic of World of Warcraft enthusiasts.

Popular variety streamers Chance "sodapoppin" Morris and Zack "Asmongold" Hazikostas topped the streaming charts. Sodapoppin had around 70,000 viewers watching him grind the WoW Classic beta, and Asmongold's stream numbers hovered in the 50,000s. 

Both streamers were not alone in receiving invites to the Beta, as the total number of viewers on twitch for World of Warcraft spiked to nearly 150,000. At the time of this article being published, World of Warcraft remains in the top 5 most popular games on Twitch. 

Professional players from a multitude of games, including League of Legends, also voiced their excitement for the return of WoW. TSM Academy Mid Laner Nicholas "Ablazeolive" Abbott expressed his gratitude regarding the re-release date, which is two days after the conclusion of LCS "D league", the NA Academy League. 

The return of World of Warcraft Classic, which Blizzard promises will be "classic gameplay with today's conveniences" is set to take the gaming community by storm with a wave of nostalgia. As the release date grows closer, expect to see more of your favorite streamers and esports athletes express their excitement, and potentially, throw their hat into the Beta ring.