World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will downloadable digitally, a first for an expansion, of the game upon the WoW: Cataclysm release date of December 7, 2010.
Although this is the first time an expansion has gone digital, it only makes sense given where digital downloading is these days.
If you download the expansion, you’ll get along with it all of the same content that’s available on the disc-based version and you will be able to download that content ahead of the launch.
“For the first time, you will be able to pre-order the expansion directly from Blizzard,” Morhaime announced. “All of the content on the game DVD can be downloaded in advance and you can start playing the moment we turn the servers on, which will be at midnight Pacific Standard Time on December 7th.”
Building on the foundation established in World of Warcraft and its first two expansions, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm adds a variety of new content and offer players the opportunity to rediscover Azeroth and experience the game from a whole new perspective. Players are able to adventure as two new playable races, achieve new levels of power, take on challenging quests and dungeons in all-new zones, and experience dramatic changes to familiar aspects of the game in the wake of a world-shattering disaster.
In Cataclysm, players will witness the face of Azeroth being altered forever, as the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing awakens from his subterranean slumber and erupts onto the surface, leaving ruin and destruction in his wake. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.
Here is the latest look at the game from the latest BlizzCon 2010 conference.