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WoW: Burning Crusade cinematic

Smouldering on EGTV.

Blizzard's released a corking cinematic introduction movie for World of Warcraft expansion The Burning Crusade, ahead of the add-on's January 16 launch.

The CGI footage shows the two new races to be introduced by the hugely anticipated release, the Blood Elves and Draenei, as well as an ominous message from super-villain Illidan Stormrage.

As well as the additional character types, the first full expansion pack to the multi-million selling MMORPG will also include a new area, The Outlands. This continent will increase the game's size by a third, obviously hosting new cities, dungeons, and quests.

In addition, players will see the level cap increased from 60 to 70 by The Burning Crusade, and can look forward to a new profession in jewel-crafting and - finally - getting their hands on flying mounts. Check out Eurogamer's preview for more details.

Recently released 'Before the Storm: Patch 2.0' included many changes to the game in preparation for the update. New talents were introduced, the honour system revamped, and arena combat added: full patch-notes can be found on the World of Warcraft community site.

Earlier this year Blizzard boss Paul Sams told our sister-site GamesIndustry.biz that the company plans to release a new expansion annually, saying, "Starting with The Burning Crusade, every year thereafter we plan on bringing out a new expansion set - so every 12 months."