Man, the Internet works fast, doesn’t it? It’s hardly even been three days since I (along with several other outlets) reported upon a rumor concerning the release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic. Now here we are just a short time later with the news in hand that Blizzard has officially confirmed that this rumor’s claims are true. I personally wasn’t expecting Blizzard to comment on the rumor anytime soon, and even then, I half-expected them to deny the rumor’s claims. In cases like this, though, I enjoy being proven wrong.

For those of you who might be unaware, the rumor claimed that The Burning Crusade Classic would release on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021. Blizzard has now confirmed that this will indeed be the expansion’s release date. Blizzard went on to announce that the pre-expansion update (or “pre-patch,” for short) leading up to TBC‘s release will go live exactly two weeks prior, on Tuesday, May 18th. They also announced various purchasable “versions” of TBC Classic, just as they’ve done with every expansion for non-Classic World of Warcraft in the past.

I won’t discuss those differing versions in this article, however; I’m reserving my thoughts on them for a separate editorial which I hope to publish fairly soon. Having said that, I do think it’s important to note that it is not mandatory for you to purchase any such “version” of The Burning Crusade Classic in order to actually access its content. All that those purchases do is net you a bunch of various goodies rather than grant you access to the expansion once it’s live.

So long as you have an active subscription to retail World of Warcraft, you’ll still be able to play both “vanilla” Classic and The Burning Crusade Classic for no extra cost or requirements as of next month. Even if your wallet is not prepared (as Illidan Stormrage would say) you don’t need to worry unless you want any of those bonus items.

On a final note for now, I find myself exceedingly curious as to whether Blizzard confirmed the claims in the aforementioned rumor in response to pressure. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this whole situation, dear readers. Are you looking forward to venturing through the Dark Portal next month? What do you make of Blizzard confirming this rumor’s claims so soon after they initially came to light? Do feel free to sound off in this article’s comments if you’re so inclined!

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!