WotLK hits stores 13 Nov!
 

While there is no official notice on World of Warcraft website (at least, not that I can find), Blizzard has taken space on our sister sites (WoWHead & Thottbot) to announce the launch of Wrath of the Lich King.

Start planning your vacation time now! Book off the 13th of November so you can go stand in line for hours to get it.


[Edit]: The info is up on the World of Warcraft website, along with a splash screen and pre-order screen.

The announcement on the Blizz site:

WRATH OF THE LICH KING INVADES STORES NOVEMBER 13
Posted by: Blizzard| 9-15-08

In the frozen wastes of the north, the Lich King Arthas Menethil rallies his undead army and schemes to bring an end to all life on Azeroth -- and in a couple of months, you'll begin your epic journey into Northrend to confront the Lich King and his minions yourself. Blizzard Entertainment's second expansion to World of Warcraft -- Wrath of the Lich King -- will be in stores on November 13 in North America, Europe, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Russia, and on November 14 in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. The expansion will be available in Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18, and the launch timing for China will be announced at a later date. For more information, read the press release or visit the Wrath of the Lich King website.

Wrath of the Lich King will be available in both a standard edition and a special Collector's Edition (in select areas). The Collector's Edition will contain an art book, behind-the-scenes DVD, exclusive in-game pet, and more. For pictures and a complete list of contents, check out the Collector's Edition website.

Retailers in North America are currently taking pre-orders for the game. Reserve your copy now online!


The Press Release:

WORLD OF WARCRAFT®: WRATH OF THE LICH KING™ IN STORES STARTING NOVEMBER 13, 2008

The second expansion to Blizzard Entertainment®'s massively multiplayer online role-playing game will be available in standard and special collector's editions

IRVINE, Calif. - September 15, 2008 - Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft®: Wrath of the Lich King™, the second expansion for its award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), will arrive in stores on November 13 in North America, Europe, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Russia, and November 14 in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The expansion will be available in Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18. Details regarding the launch of Wrath of the Lich King in mainland China will be announced at a later date.

"We're looking forward to launching Wrath of the Lich King and finally giving World of Warcraft players a chance to take on Arthas and his minions," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Until then, we'll continue to refine and playtest the expansion content to make sure it provides a highly polished and entertaining experience."

World of Warcraft®: Wrath of the Lich King™ sends players to the cold, forbidding continent of Northrend, where the fearsome Lich King Arthas Menethil, last seen in Warcraft® III: The Frozen Throne®, works from his secluded citadel to bring all of Azeroth under his twisted dominion. Players will battle the Lich King's undead army from the shores of Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra to the seat of his unholy power in Icecrown Glacier. In addition, players will be able to advance characters to level 80 and gain powerful new abilities while exploring several new zones and dungeons. The expansion also introduces a number of exciting new features, including an achievement system, expanded player-vs.-player combat options such as siege weapons and destructible buildings, and the game's first Hero class -- the necromantic death knight.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows® XP/Windows Vista® and Machintosh® in two packages: a standard edition, which will sell for a suggested retail price of $39.99, and a special Collector's Edition (in select regions) priced at $69.99. The limited Collector's Edition package will contain:

• The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game.
• An exclusive in-game pet: Frosty, the baby frost wyrm.
• A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, the Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic with director's commentary and more.
• The official soundtrack CD, containing 21 epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.
• A mouse pad featuring a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend.
• Two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game March of the Legion™, starter decks, along with two exclusive cards available only in the Collector's Edition.

The Wrath of the Lich King expansion requires the original World of Warcraft game, available now for a suggested retail price of $19.99, along with World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade®, which sells for $29.99. These two products are combined in the World of Warcraft Battle Chest®, are available for $39.99. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King has received a Teen rating from the ESRB

That's kinda confusing. Why would they get the chance to announce a release date before it's announced on the official WoW site?

Nothing Blizzard does surprises me anymore. I'm still wondering how they're going to get it in shape in just two months...

There was a huge huge thread about this (what's being posted on Thottbot and WoWhead) over at the wow forums. One of the Blizz employees said;

"Until you see an official post, any dates released by third party sites are pure speculation. :)"

But, like someone else said in that thread... there's a smiley at the end lol. Could be considered as a dead giveaway rofl. ;)

Hmmm http://projectlore.com/ has it too.

Which particular thread, Silenia? There are numerous. My best guess would be that someone may have goofed somewhere along the line, either not getting the press release out in time &/or telling the sites to push the ads live too soon. Either that or a marketing ploy to build buzz?

Same as you, regardingly how they threat EU beta testers like dogs, haven't been able to test 10% of that expansion, just some *** quests wahouu, I hope this wotlk release will be a fiasco like BC.

Here ya go :D

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...56327893&sid=1


Edit: There was something behind that grin after all lol


:banana:

I don't know if you saw the time/day deal on either of the threads you read but I'm gussing that's the reason Wowhead/etc had it posted before Blizzard.

It was posted at 12 EST Monday morning on Wowhead, and I'm guessing it was also posted at 12 PST Monday morning on WoW.

This is soo funny. Me and my fiancee were discussing this last night. I said to him " Its probably going to come out in novemeber since the ptr is up with the patch and all " then he said "yea some of the preorder sites said november so your probably right "

:D yay can't wait!

Hooray!

Now I know when to take some days off :)

I may do the same. But i dont have very many vacation days available untill march. It is how ever close to the weekend tho which is nice!

I wonder if we're starting to see the influence of EA Games... as a software tester myself, a hard deadline like this usually means it's going out the door pretty much ready or not barring any "showstoppers".

I thought the same thing only my boss denied my days because he plays WoW too. I guess he thinks those days are going to let him get a head start on me.

ROFL septor!

I still don't have a good enough computer..gotta wait til june :(

//wrists

LOL- some of my employees can feel your pain since I am teh boss!! :D

I would think this act is some sort of integrity issue!

Edit:

I'm trying to figure out a way where I can call in without them knowing the real reason for me playing hooky. Any ideas? (Also, no integrity issue here since it's canceled out by his actions!)

http://www.wikihow.com/Call-in-Sick-...Need-a-Day-Off
and the other links from there.

It's all pretty bad to a point it is even funny.