WoW's next patch introduces an alternative dimension where everyone is an infamous race of fish people

Concept art of a band of murlocs storming a beach
(Image credit: Blizzard)

World of Warcraft is getting a new content update today with an alternative timeline where everyone is a murloc. 

As part of the next patch in WoW's Dragonflight run, players can explore Time Rift activities that offer a glimpse at what Azeroth would look like had things gone differently. As Wowhead reports, one of those worlds doesn't change heaps regarding events, instead asking the burning question of what if we were all just fish people? 

Over the course of the quest, you'll head off to Azmerloth to face a murloc version of Gul'dan called Gill'dan – get it? – in a suitably fishy version of the Wymrest Temple. Snatching victory leads to a meeting with Alulgultasza de Urgl-Blalul – Alexstrasza, but murloc – who then travels back to your timeline with you to strike a peace agreement. 

If you've been out of the loop, murlocs are an ancient race of Azeroth that evolved to survive dangerous aquatic environments. That's the lore part, but the community has long had a fondness for them, as, well, they're fish people. Outside of WoW, they also pop up in Hearthstone.

As you may be getting by now, the Time Rift activities feed into the overall story WoW is going through right now, which is that the Dragon Isles are being invaded by beings from separate timelines. Alongside all that, you're getting all the usual good stuff like a big ol' raid alongside other neat titbits like a new specialisation for the evoker class, a dragon racing event, and much more. 

The Fractures in Time content update is due to release later today, though some players have been running the rule over what's to come in the latest PTR. 

Meanwhile, a World of Warcraft legend is off crushing Diablo 4 Hardcore with an indestructible Barbarian that kills everything it touches. 

Deputy News Editor

Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.

Read more
A purple scholar reads a text in a World of Warcraft library
WoW Classic might be getting a legendary weapon that's been the subject of rumors in the MMO's mainline version for 20 years
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft guild cheats its way to winning Race for World First, gets caught, banned, then reverses its name and does it all over again
World of Warcraft Classic Fall of the Lich King
Blizzard boss says keeping World of Warcraft players happy for 20 years is so hard because the MMO is filled with "different demographics that only have so much time in their day"
Team Liquid clears Chrome King Gallywix
World of Warcraft's latest raid race ends in disappointment after 12 days with a final boss so lackluster the team who won was visibly confused to have beaten it
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail screenshot showing the Warrior of Light, a man with lengthy swept-back brown hair, blue eyes, and facial hair stubble, smiling slightly
As Final Fantasy 14 fans gear up for patch 7.2, Yoshi-P teases that the update will be the MMO's largest ever
World of Warcraft's new Trader’s Gilded Brutosaur mount
World of Warcraft director says last year's Hardcore release was a better version of classic WoW than WoW Classic was
Latest in MMO
Dungeon Fighter Online
One of the oldest action MMOs around gets its first level cap update in years: "The main focus of this update is to emphasize the core RPG experience - the fun of farming"
A purple scholar reads a text in a World of Warcraft library
WoW Classic might be getting a legendary weapon that's been the subject of rumors in the MMO's mainline version for 20 years
Team Liquid clears Chrome King Gallywix
World of Warcraft's latest raid race ends in disappointment after 12 days with a final boss so lackluster the team who won was visibly confused to have beaten it
Old School RuneScape Smite collab
MMO scholar puts a $500 bounty on old versions of RuneScape as part of a community archive project: "You might have ALL of the game's lost versions!"
WalkScape
"Staying MTX and advertisement free is absolutely key": Almost 20 years later, RuneScape fan turns his MMO love into an old-school RPG where fitness is the grind
World of Warcraft Classic Fall of the Lich King
Blizzard boss says keeping World of Warcraft players happy for 20 years is so hard because the MMO is filled with "different demographics that only have so much time in their day"
Latest in News
Adam Scott as Mark S and Britt Lower as Helly R in Severance season 2
Severance season 2 finale's original script "explained more" about Lumon's agenda, but creator Dan Erickson "wanted to leave room for people to discuss"
Sam Worthington in Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron's early cut of Avatar 3 is "absolutely breathtaking," according to Disney CEO Bob Iger
The two characters in Split Fiction dressed in fantasy gear each with a dragon on their back
Split Fiction is already being turned into a movie as "top Hollywood studios" reportedly start a bidding war over the co-op sensation
Kinnikuman
A WWE champion has joined the roster of an under-the-radar Netflix wrestling anime
No Time to Die
Harry Potter and Spider-Man producers reportedly in talks to develop new James Bond movie
Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia!
Mean Girls star Amanda Seyfried was offered the role of Gamora in the MCU, but turned it down because she thought Guardians of the Galaxy would be "Marvel's first bomb"