World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria out 25 September

Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the next expansion for World of Warcraft (WoW), titled Mists of Pandaria, will be released on 25 September. Presales begin today.

Mists of Pandaria is the fourth expansion for the immensely popular massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft. It will be available on 25 September both as boxed retail versions and online as a downloadable purchase.
New content
Pandaria is a long-lost continent that contains new quests, ancient mysteries, and a new playable race called the Pandaren. Given the name, you won't be surprised to learn that they're based around a panda-like design.

Mists of Pandaria also introduces a new character class -- the monk.

So you can play a kung-fu panda? Yep.

As with most WoW expansions, the level cap has also been increased, and players can now reach level 90 with their existing or new characters.

Blizzard says that there are also new gameplay elements, which include scenarios -- a flexible new kind of cooperative PvE trial -- as well as challenge modes that centre around Pandaria's 5-player dungeons, and a new pet battle system.

Mists of Pandaria was originally announced on 21 October, 2011, at the opening ceremony of Blizzcon 2011. It's been in beta for several months.

“Mists of Pandaria contains the biggest variety of new content we’ve ever created for a World of Warcraft expansion, with features that will appeal to new players, veterans, and everyone in between,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve received a lot of great feedback from players during our most extensive beta test yet, and we hope they enjoy exploring everything Pandaria has to offer when the expansion comes out in September.”

Pricing and availability
Mists of Pandaria will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh for $80 or directly from Blizzard’s World of Warcraft website. Mighty Ape is offering pre-order copies for $70, but EBgames appears to have not received the official prices yet -- its asking $118.

A special boxed Collector’s Edition with bonus items will be in retail stores for $140. Blizzard is also offering a digital deluxe edition for the first time. It will contain in-game bonus items and can be purchased online even by those who bought the standard retail or digital edition.