‘World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic’ release date listed as June 1st, per supposed Battle.net leak

“World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic” is one of the biggest launches expected from Blizzard Entertainment this year. While the developer has yet to provide a specific release date, a supposed leak was spotted Monday seemingly suggesting the expansion would go live on June 1.

Can Blizzard launch ‘WoW: Burning Crusade Classic’ in less than a month?

The “WoW Classic” subReddit was fired up a few hours ago as Reddit user Nonbread shared a screenshot from Battle.net that appears to announce the “Burning Crusade” expansion will be released early next month. The headline for the ad reads: “On June 1, return to Outland in World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic.”

Wowhead has also gathered other images showing the same ad, leading to discussions on the possibility of the expansion getting released in a few weeks. However, most fans doubt the information is accurate even if sources of the screenshots all say the post was seen on Battle.net.

Avid fans of the franchise have good reasons to be skeptical, though. Based on the game’s history, expansions only go live after a series of beta tests and a pre-patch stage open for every player. Since 2006, before the original “Burning Crusade” was released, pre-patch runs for around 30 days. In the case of “Mists of Pandaria,” it even lasted for more than two months.

While Blizzard has discussed the pre-“WoW: Burning Crusade Classic” patch in a blog post last February, the developer has yet to announce when it is actually going live. It is also worth noting that Blizzard started sending invitations for beta tests last March 24. With these things in mind, fans are more inclined to believe that the ad pointing to a June 1st release date, may have just been a placeholder accidentally published on Battle.net.

‘WoW: Burning Crusade Classic’ gameplay: What to expect

Based on the gameplay details Blizzard announced, “WoW: Burning Crusade Classic” appears to be more than a recreation of the original expansion. The developer confirmed it is adding new lands, including one that will take the characters from the Dark Portal to the Outland.

“WoW: Burning Crusade Classic” will also introduce two new playable Horde and Alliance races namely the blood elves and draenei, respectively. But it is also bringing back some components added through the expansion in 2007, such as the Ring of Trials and Circle of Blood arenas where players can engage in 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 PvP combat.