WoW: The Burning Crusade Delayed

In a very rare move for Blizzard Entertainment, the brains behind World of Warcraft, we've been given a solid release date for the MMORPG's long-awaited expansion, The Burning Crusade. In a very common move for Blizzard, they've also delayed said expansion to allow for more beta testing and refinement, meaning that users will need to wait until January before embarking on the long, treacherous journey to Level 70. On the plus side, delays from Blizzard usually indicate the desire to make sure that the forthcoming product is as bug-free as possible, and I'd much rather wait a few more months than need to deal with a series of irritating bugs and half-completed features; the griffon paths are annoyance enough. To see the official announcement, hit the jump!

IRVINE, Calif. — Blizzard Entertainment® today announced that the release date for World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade™, the highly anticipated expansion for World of Warcraft, will be in January 2007. By adding a few extra weeks to the development cycle beyond its original target date, Blizzard will be able to extend the closed beta test and further refine the new content that will ship with the game.

"We appreciate the enthusiasm surrounding World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and we're excited about putting the finishing touches on all of the new content," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We feel confident that the extra time spent polishing the game will result in the high-quality experience that our players expect and deserve."

Blizzard began the closed-beta phase of testing on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade earlier this month. The January 2007 release window will allow extra time for current beta testers to participate in the final stages of development and continue providing valuable feedback.

Further information on specific worldwide release dates, pricing, and other details will be announced in the near future.

[via 1UP]