With World of Warcraft currently enjoying the kind of success that other MMORPG developers can only dream of, with a massive 4 million subscribers worldwide, it was only a matter of time before the game was granted its first expansion. Though announced a few months ago, Blizzard have remained tight-lipped as to what this expansion might contain, leading to an upsurge of rumours and speculation as to the possible content. Many of these can now be laid to rest at last, as Blizzard recently gave the first official details of this latest addition to the Warcraft universe at their annual Blizzcon event.

Although already playing a role in World of Warcraft, the focus for this expansion is centred around the re-emergence of the Burning Legion, who've risen against the Alliance and Horde before, and they're out to punish those beyond the Dark Portal on a continent known as Outland. Formerly the Orc homeworld of Draenor, Outland is nothing more than a series of floating isles, the remnants of a planet destroyed during an epic conflict with the Alliance and ruled over by a fallen Night Elf called Illidan.

Beardy lore aside, the expansion is planning a whole host of new features, with Outland perhaps being the biggest - an entire new continent to explore that'll expand on the Warcraft story and introduce players to a range of new dungeons and creatures to kill or aid. Already the concept art shows that Outland will be just as varied and interesting to explore as the two current continents open to WoW adventurers, though while Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms are easily explorable on foot, in order to navigate to new areas in Outland you'll have to take to the air.

Being split up into a series of floating islands, traditional means of transport between areas will now have to be handled through flying mounts. Though details are scarce as to how you'll acquire these and how much they'll cost, it is an intriguing addition that should make exploration much more interesting, though it's doubtful these mounts will be usable anywhere other than Outland.

Aside from a new environment to explore, Blizzard have also confirmed that the Alliance and the Horde will be getting a new playable race each, both with their own unique starting area and quests. Though while Blizzard are keeping secrets as to which race will accompany the Alliance (current guesses amongst the community is the Panderan, a race of giant Panda people whose mythology is based on that of the Samurai) they have finally confirmed rumours that the Blood Elves will be the new Horde race. Not to be confused with their Night Elf counterparts, the Blood Elves are a particularly nasty breed of elf who've developed an affinity towards dark magic and a hatred towards the Alliance who cast them out, hence their reasoning for allying with the Horde. Though some hardened Horde players haven't taken well to the news of having Elvish allies in their midst, the addition of a 'pretty' race among the Horde should hopefully draw more players to that faction, redressing issues that some servers suffer from, with the population ratio often favouring the Alliance.

Another big feature that has also drawn some flak is the announcement of an increase in the level cap - WoW's current levels system only allows players to work their way up to 60, but the expansion is set to change that to 70, with new talent points for each class also planned to make use of this increase. Though some are already criticising this move, stating that it'll make current high end dungeon runs pointless, many have embraced it as a good thing, allowing lower level players to take on these areas without the massive groups currently needed, while the added inclusion of new dungeons and new bosses to defeat should provide enough new thrills to please everyone.

And speaking of dungeons, perhaps the most interesting news to accompany the expansion's announcement are details on the Caverns of Time, a dungeon that has remained closed since WoW's release. The Caverns will allow players to take part in Warcraft lore, taking a trip back in time to witness key events that have changed the face of the world of Azeroth, such as seeing how Thrall became the ruler of the Orcs and the first opening of the Dark Portal. Other dungeons are promised, not just for the expansion but for upcoming patches too, and Blizzard are keen to make future Instances a lot less of a grind and a lot more varied, hopefully making the experience fun for all rather than the chore it often becomes.

Other features planned for the expansion are the inevitable inclusion of hundreds of new quests and items, as well as a new profession in the form of jewel crafting, which will work hand in hand with the inclusion of socketed items. On top of all of this, Blizzard gave a few details as to what to expect from upcoming updates to the current game, including a few revamps here and there to raid content and professions, the inclusion of linked Auction Houses that'll be in every major city and the addition of weather effects to the already varied environments.

If there was one bit of bad news from the unveiling of the expansion, it was the release date, or rather lack of it. Blizzard haven't confirmed when The Burning Crusade will hit the shelves, but it's looking likely to be sometime late next year. Though there may be a long wait ahead for World of Warcraft enthusiasts, continuous updates between then and now should make up for this. Either way, WoW addicts will probably want to see about booking the next twelve months of their social life off.

Previewed by Kieron Giacopazzi for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).