New WOW Expansion Name and Races Revealed

courtesy of gamespot

Source: World of Warcraft enthusiast blog WoW.com (formerly known as "WoW Insider").

What we heard: The site cites "multiple sources close to the situation" who claim two new races will be added to WOW as part of a rumored new expansion called "Cataclysm." For the Alliance faction, the upcoming race will purportedly be the lupine Worgen. Meanwhile, the Horde will reportedly receive the once-neutral Goblin race.

The suspected leak comes after previous speculation that the Goblins and Worgen would be added to the 11-million-strong massively multiplayer online role-playing game's roster. On July 17, the fan site MMO Champion said it was convinced the two races would be playable after Blizzard revealed Goblin and Worgen novelty masks for its in-game Halloween-themed festival. Previously, only playable races were granted such distinction.

The reported name of the supposed upcoming expansion, Cataclysm, was trademarked by Blizzard on June 26 for everything from computer games to greeting cards. When GameSpot inquired to the developer on the trademark filings, the company declined to give any further details on the title, including whether the cataclysm label would be applied toward other game series or a new one altogether.

Although the latest WOW expansion--Wrath of the Lich King--did not add any new races, its predecessor, The Burning Crusade, added the Blood Elves and Draenei when it was released in January 2007. The latter had been known about since December 2005, when an advance edition of Computer Games Magazine revealed the new Alliance race.

The rumor comes 10 days before BlizzCon 2009, which runs from August 21-22. The developer has traditionally used the convention to officially announce new titles, including both games and expansions. The Burning Crusade was unveiled at BlizzCon 2005, and Wrath of the Lich King was unveiled at the event two years later.

The official story: "We haven't made any announcements in regard to any new races for World of Warcraft and don't comment on rumors or speculation." -- Blizzard rep

Bogus or not bogus?: WoW.com accurately predicted the previous two add-on races, the Blood Elves and Draenei, well before their official revelation by Blizzard. However, WoW.com had reported based off disclosed sources and cited concrete game data to back up its claims, such as screenshots, audio files, and video clips. The site's new blog post, on the other hand, only goes off anonymous sources and dubious novelty-mask image files. But with BlizzCon right around the corner, the veracity of WoW.com's sources will soon become clear.