World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria release date announced

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria's release date is September 25! Are you ready to be a Panda? You've got a few months to prepare before Wow's next big expansion arrives. Mists of Pandaria introduces a new race, the Pandaren, a new starting zone based on the back of a huge turtle, new mounts, new quests, new skills, a new class. Here's everything you need to know about Mists of Pandaria , and here's Blizzard lore builder Chris Metzen on why YOU are the real monsters in this brave new world of adorable bears wearing hats and doing martial arts. Need to know more? Here's our PvP guide , our look at Mists of Pandaria's endgame and our video preview .

Mists of Pandaria is available to pre-purchase now. It comes in several different forms. The standard edition containing the expansion alone costs £29.99 / 34.99 Euro / $39.99, but there's also a digital deluxe edition for £39.99 / 49.99 Euro / $59.99 and a Collector's Edition which will cost £59.99 / $79.99. The standard and digital deluxe editions can be bought now, the Collector's Edition will be available in retail stores. Here's Blizzard's word on what each contains.

Digital deluxe

  • World of Warcraft In-Game Mount: Take to the skies of Azeroth astride the mystical Imperial Quilen flying mount.

  • World of Warcraft In-Game Pet: Journey across Pandaria with the Lucky Quilen Cub at your side.

  • StarCraft® II Battle.net® Portraits: Bring the Horde and Alliance rivalry to the far reaches of the Koprulu sector with exclusive Infested Orc and Night Elf Templar Battle.net portraits.

  • Diablo® III Banner Sigil and Accent: Display your status as a hero of Pandaria with the iconic markings of World of Warcraft's newest playable race, the pandaren.

Collector's Edition - contains digital deluxe items plus...

  • Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray: Learn about the creation of Pandaria with this two-disc set featuring over an hour of commentary, insider interviews, and developer roundtables.

  • Collector's Edition Soundtrack CD: Experience 20 orchestral pieces from Mists of Pandaria.

  • The Art of Mists of Pandaria Book: Explore this 208-page hardcover tome featuring never-before-seen pieces from the expansion, from early concepts to final 3D renderings.

  • Chen Stormstout Mouse Pad: Equip your desk with this special-edition mouse pad featuring the legendary pandaren brewmaster.

Pre-purchasing will let you pre-load most of the the Mists of Pandaria files onto your PC ahead of release, so you'll be able to jump straight in when the floodgates open and Azeroth is swamped by a frenzied horde of frantic pandas.

Tom Senior

Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.