Remarkably, considering its continued success, World of Warcraft will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this November, having originally launched on November 23, 2004. To celebrate, Blizzard will be hosting a special in-game event and giving away a new pet.
Whether you're interested in PvP or PvE content, there will be at least one thing for you to do during the event. PvE players at the level cap will be able to take part in a special 40-player Raid Finder version of the Molten Core raid. Completing the raid will get you a Core Hound mount and an accompanying achievement.
PvP players can relive the old Horde-versus-Alliance battles that used to take place around Tarren Mill and Southshore, where I can fondly remember being killed countless times. Blizzard will offer a "team deathmatch-style" Battleground that is "based on that timeless struggle." Being a proper Battleground, there will actually be a victor determined this time around, whereas those old battles never really ended.
Finally, by logging in during the anniversary event, you'll be able to get yourself the adorable Molten Corgi pictured to the right.
A date for when the event will run has not been announced. Blizzard describes this all as a "quick preview," so it's possible we haven't heard about everything it will offer. We do know it's not the only new content coming to WoW this year, as the game's next expansion pack, Warlords of Draenor, is scheduled for release this fall. Blizzard plans on unveiling the expansion's cinematic video and release date at a special event next week.
As of June 30, WoW had 6.8 million subscribers, according to publisher Activision Blizzard. That's a significant drop from where it was three months earlier, but it's still a huge figure, and one likely to increase when Warlords of Draenor is released.
What are your fondest memories of the past decade of WoW? Let us know in the comments.
Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX
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