"We're extremely proud of what we created with World of Warcraft, and we look forward to expanding the boundaries of the game with The Burning Crusade,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. "With all of the new content we have planned, the expansion set will offer something for every World of Warcraft player to explore and enjoy."

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade takes up where World of Warcraft left off, with the races of the Horde and the Alliance continuing to rebuild their lives among the shattered lands of Azeroth. Amid the fragile peace that exists between the factions come rumors that the Burning Legion’s age-old war against Azeroth – the so-called Burning Crusade – has been rekindled and threatens to consume the world in another firestorm of war and strife. Old allegiances fall and new ones rise as both the Horde and Alliance look to new friends in this time of need.

Several years have passed since the Burning Legion's defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world. Will these heroes find friends or foes? What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade?

Here is just a partial list of what you can expect from the World of Warcraft expansion:

• An increase in the level cap to 70
• Two new playable races, including the magical Blood Elves
• New starting zones in Quel'Thalas and beyond
• The entire new continent of Outland, reachable through the
• Dark Portal
• Many new high-level dungeons to explore in Azeroth,
• Outland, and elsewhere
• New flying mounts in Outland
• Many new and dangerous monsters, including epic world
• bosses
• Hundreds of new quests
• Hundreds of new items
• A new profession: Jewelcrafting
• Socketed items
• And much, much more...