Blizzard delays The Burning Crusade

Blizzard today announced that it has pushed back the release date for The Burning Crusade, the expansion to its World of Warcraft online role-playing game. Blizzard notes in an official forums post that by adding a few extra weeks to the development cycle of The Burning Crusade beyond its original target date, the company hopes to extend the closed beta test and further refine the new content that will ship with the expansion. "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."

The Burning Crusade promises to increase the game's level cap from 60 to 70, and includes new spells as well as new talents for each class. Two new playable races -- Blood Elves for the Horde and Draenei for the Alliance -- complement an entirely new continent named 'Outland.' The expansion will add many new zones and high-level dungeons, along with hundreds of new monsters alongside quests and items. A new profession -- Jewelcrafting -- will enable players to create jewelry or embed special gems in socketed items to increase their power. Additionally, the update to the most popular online RPG will allow players to acquire flying mounts in the new continent of Outland.

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