World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Now Available

Blizzard Entertainment issued a press release earlier today announcing the availability of their World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion pack.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Now Available

First Expansion for Blizzard Entertainment(R)'s Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Launches in Multiple Regions

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade(TM), the first expansion set for the world's leading subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, is now on sale throughout North America and Europe. The expansion will be available in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand on January 17, with availability in mainland China and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau to be announced at a later date. World of Warcraft is played by more than 8 million gamers around the world.

"The Burning Crusade is the single largest expansion we've ever created, and we're grateful for the support shown by our beta testers and the millions of World of Warcraft players worldwide during its development," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. "We're excited to share all of the new content with players, and we're certain that they'll enjoy the quality and breadth of new experiences that The Burning Crusade offers."

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade adds a tremendous amount of new features and content to World of Warcraft, including Outland, a massive new continent for players to explore, as well as flying mounts, which will allow players to reach locations in Outland that would be otherwise inaccessible. Over the course of their new adventures, players will be able to take their characters up to level 70, gaining powerful new abilities along the way. Hundreds of new quests and monsters and several unexplored dungeons will offer exciting new challenges, while the new Blood Elf and Draenei races, each with capital cities and starting zones, promise a fresh start to current and new players alike. The jewelcrafting profession, socketed items, and expansive new player-vs.-player features round out the offering in World of Warcraft's first expansion.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is now available at retailers nationwide for Windows® 2000/XP and Macintosh® at a suggested retail price of $39.99. A special Collector's Edition of the expansion is also available, at a suggested retail price of $69.99. This limited-edition package includes the expansion on both CD-ROM and DVD, the Art of The Burning Crusade coffee table book, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game card packs and three exclusive cards, a map of Outland mouse pad, and the official soundtrack CD. The World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion requires the original World of Warcraft game, which is now selling for a suggested retail price of $19.99. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has received a Teen rating from the ESRB.

For more information on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, please visit the official website for the expansion at www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade .

World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition

World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard's track record includes nine #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's free Internet gaming service, Battle.net®, reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users.