Blizzcon leak reveals new Shadowlands and Warcraft details — everything you need to know

World of Warcraft Shadowlands
(Image credit: Blizzard)

Update: Blizzard is looking at bringing Warcraft games to mobile devices.

Some of Blizzard's biggest upcoming titles have leaked ahead of BlizzCon 2021, known this year as BlizzConline. The leaks reveal two major additions coming to both World of Warcraft Classic and World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. 

The leaks come in the form of a press kit that made its way online. With multiple outlets reporting, Blizzard has yet to confirm any of the information that’s hit the net.

According to the press kit, World of Warcraft Classic will be welcoming The Burning Crusade to the fold. This marks the first time the expansion will have been available for WoW in 14 years since its 2007 debut. WoW Classic players can experience The Burning Crusade in its entirety, the way it was when it first hit Azeroth. 

The Burning Crusade takes players to the realm of Outland to help fend off invading demons known as the Burning Legion. Locations like Zangarmarsh and the Hellfire Peninsula will be available to explore once more, the way it was over a decade prior. Content will continue to roll out at a measured cadence with The Burning Crusade's release, meaning some of the story and locations will be available at different times.

Players can create new characters in WoW Classic from both the Blood Elf or Draenei race, with newly remade features from The Burning Crusade for an added challenge. That includes Jewelcrafting, flying mounts, and Arena PvP brawls. 

The Burning Crusade expansion will allow players to skip their characters ahead to the Burning Crusade Era or get there organically on the Classic Era servers. Plus, the expansion will be free to any World of Warcraft subscriber. 

Modern World of Warcraft players have plenty to look forward to as well. The first major patch for the Shadowlands expansion is reportedly Chains of Domination. It pledges to add new raid and dungeon content, cosmetic armor sets, and a way to fly through the Shadowlands before welcoming Anduin back to WoW. 

The story begins in Korthia, the City of Secrets, which houses new quests and activities. The main campaign will find players bringing together the four covenants to mount an assault against the villainous Jailer, who's working on a variety of evil machinations. 

The expansion will bring a new eight-boss Mythic mega-dungeon, seasonal Mythic Keystone dungeon items, mounts, pets, and more. It's set to push the already meaty Shadowlands expansion forward in significant ways.

This is just a taste of what to expect during the full BlizzCon 2021 lineup. There will be additional announcements and reveals when the event kicks off on Feb. 19 at 2:00 PM PT.  

Brittany Vincent

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she's looking for the next great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.