The prophecies have come true! Following a leak of the announcement in Blizzard’s Battle.net launcher, the company has officially confirmed that the global release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic will be happening on June 1st, with the pre-patch coming on May 18th.
“For many World of Warcraft players, the original Burning Crusade was their first step on an epic journey that’s still going on today—but for many others, stories of fleeing the Fel Reaver and confronting Illidan at the top of the Black Temple are just the stuff of legend,” said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “With Burning Crusade Classic, we want to give players a chance to experience the trials and triumphs of Outland in a way that hasn’t been possible for more than a decade, and do so adventuring alongside old friends and new. We can’t wait to travel with everyone back through the Dark Portal once again.”
When the expansion launches, you will be given a choice for each of your existing WoW Classic characters: to progress to the Burning Crusade, or to continue in the original WoW Classic content on all-new “Classic Era” servers coming with the rollout of TBC Classic. Players who want to experience the best of both worlds will have the option to “clone” each WoW Classic character as an optional paid service (available May 18, $35 per character).
If you do not have WoW Classic characters, you can purchase an optional level-58 character boost service. The boost is $39.99 and will not be usable on Classic Era realms or on the new Blood Elf or Draenei races. Additionally, only one character boost is available per WoW account.
The boosted character will receive:
- Apprentice Riding skill
- Race-specific mount
- Weapon skills up to level 58
- Access to certain flight paths
- A set of level 58 magic (green) quality gear
- Up to four Runecloth Bags (14 slots each)
- A little bit of gold to start their journey
Additionally, Blizzard revealed the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic Deluxe Edition for $69.99, also available with the arrival of the pre-expansion patch on May 18. The Deluxe Edition comes with:
- The Reawakened Phase-Hunter mount, a creature that draws on the otherworldly energies that transformed Draenor into Outland, for use only in Burning Crusade Classic and designed to match the look of the original expansion
- The Viridian Phase-Hunter mount, a variant for use in modern World of Warcraft (including Shadowlands) and reflecting the game’s current visual style
- A Dark Portal Hearthstone for use in Burning Crusade Classic, providing a unique visual effect inspired by the gateway between worlds
- The Path of Illidan toy for Burning Crusade Classic, which causes your character’s footsteps to leave flickering fel fire in their wake for a short time
- The Dark Portal Pass, which boosts one character to level 58 (same restrictions as standalone Dark Portal Pass apply; cannot be combined with standalone Dark Portal Pass purchase)
- 30 days of World of Warcraft game time, providing access to WoW Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, and the modern game
