Blizzard has announced World of Warcraft Classic is set to release August 27th with a beta going live today, the May 15th. This new edition will be included in your current WoW subscription, and only current subscribers can participate in the closed beta. More information is soon to come on the WoW website. Blizzard will also be inviting select players into the closed beta, while more players will be added for stress testing from May through July.

World of Warcraft Classic will bring players back to Azeroth, in the same state it was in during the Drums of War update (Patch 1.12). Players will once again be able to “Assemble a 40-player raid to take on the fiery hazards of Molten Core, fight for their faction in the ongoing world PvP struggle between Southshore and Tarren Mill, muster a realm-wide war effort to open the gates of Ahn’Qiraj, and much more.”

WoW Classic will be receiving updates over multiple phases that will be released just like the original’s order. All this and more will be included with existing World of Warcraft subscriptions at no additional cost.

Here’s what Allen Brack had to say in a press release on WoW Classic: “Building and launching World of Warcraft back in 2004 was immensely challenging. A tornado literally tore the roof off one of the game’s data centers during the early days of testing – but Blizzard was fortunate to have hundreds, and then thousands, and then millions of people around the world cheering our developers on.”

Brack continues, “Like many of our players, everyone at Blizzard was fuelled by the excitement of seeing the world of Azeroth from the ground level, through the eyes of the heroes inhabiting and fighting over it. Azeroth has always been a wondrous and deadly place, and it was especially so at the time of WoW’s launch, when everyone was discovering its vistas and exploring its dungeons for the first time – all while helping and supporting the company as everyone here worked through the many technical struggles of hosting a game of this size.”

In closing, Brack said, “That early experience was incredibly important to Blizzard. It taught us many things about ourselves as a developer and publisher, and about the global community of players that we feel honored to be a part of. The World of Warcraft Classic experience is very different from the Azeroth we know today, but we love it for what it is and what it stands for. We can’t wait to get reacquainted with this dangerous, demanding, and rewarding world with all of our friends, new and old.”

The arrival of WoW classic is part of Blizzard’s celebration of 15 years of WoW. Blizzard will also be the launching the World of Warcraft 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, which will be available October 8th for $99. The price is mostly due to the Ragnaros statue it comes with. The WoW 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition includes a map of Azeroth mouse pad, art prints, Alabaster Stonetalon mount for the Alliance, the Alabaster Thunderwing mount for the Horde, 30 Days of Game Time, Onyxia Pin, and Ragnaros Statue.

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