Land, ho! Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, the fourth expansion set for the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, will be available in stores and online starting from September 25, 2012. Upon the expansion’s release, intrepid explorers of the Alliance and the Horde will be able to set foot upon the shores of the long-lost continent of Pandaria and embark on a perilous journey to uncover its ancient mysteries.
Mists of Pandaria will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7 and Macintosh at a suggested retail price of $39.99 USD. The expansion will also be available digitally directly from Blizzard’s World of Warcraft website (www.WorldofWarcraft.com), also priced at $39.99 USD.
A special Collector’s Edition packed with bonus items will be available exclusively in retail stores for a suggested retail price of $79.99 USD. In addition, for the first time, World of Warcraft players have the option to purchase a special Digital Deluxe version of the expansion containing the in-game bonus items from the Collector’s Edition. The Digital Deluxe version is available to download directly from Blizzard via www.WorldofWarcraft.com for $59.99 USD. Players who purchase the standard edition digitally or at retail will have the option to upgrade to the Digital Deluxe version at any time (for as long as the standalone Digital Deluxe version remains available) for an additional $20 USD.
Presales for the standard digital and Digital Deluxe versions of Mists of Pandaria are now live. Players who would like to purchase either version and be ready to play the moment the expansion launches can do so now by visiting www.WorldofWarcraft.com. The expansion content will automatically be digitally delivered to pre-purchasers via World of Warcraft’s streaming launcher prior to the release of Mists of Pandaria. Players who would like to preorder the standard box or the retail-exclusive Collector’s Edition can do so by visiting their local retailer.
‘Mists of Pandaria contains the biggest variety of new content we’ve ever created for a World of Warcraft expansion, with features that will appeal to new players, veterans, and everyone in between,’ said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. ‘We’ve received a lot of great feedback from players during our most extensive beta test yet, and we hope they enjoy exploring everything Pandaria has to offer when the expansion comes out in September.’
In World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, warships of the Alliance and Horde clash off the coast of a long-lost continent, signaling the start of a new era of discovery and conquest in the history of Azeroth. As players storm the shores of this exotic new frontier and begin to explore its mysteries, they’ll encounter brave new allies, unearth ancient secrets, and play their part in reigniting the long-brewing conflict between the Horde and Alliance on a strange battlefield far from home.
Mists of Pandaria offers a wide variety of content for new and returning World of Warcraft players. Features include a new playable race (the pandaren) with its own starting zone and quests, a new character class (the monk), and an expansive new continent for players to explore as they adventure to the new level cap of 90. The expansion also includes a host of new gameplay elements designed to give players even more ways to enjoy the game, including scenarios — a flexible new kind of cooperative PvE trial; challenge modes, which offer high-prestige rewards for mastering Mists of Pandaria’s 5-player dungeons; and an all-new pet battle system.
Mists of Pandaria has received a Teen rating from the ESRB. In addition to the English version, Mists of Pandaria will be fully localized into Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Russian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and for the first time with a World of Warcraft expansion launch, Italian. Availability of Mists of Pandaria in mainland China will be announced at a later date.
To learn more about World of Warcraft and Mists of Pandaria, please visit the official website at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com. To set up a Battle.net account and to opt-in to Blizzard Entertainment beta tests, please visit the official Battle.net website at http://www.battle.net. With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available — visit http://jobs.blizzard.com for more information and to learn how to apply.