World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Release Date Officially Announced: December 7th

Looks like the WoW sleuths whose work we reported on last week were correct: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm‘s release date has been officially set by Blizzard for December 7th. This date had been previously surmised by fans based on evidence hidden in the files of the latest patch to the Cataclysm beta servers taken in conjunction with community manager Zarhym‘s statement that the next Arena Season for the MMO would begin “approximately one week after the official launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.”

Cataclysm will be available online and in stores for $39.99: There’ll also be a $79.99 Collector’s Edition. Note that this will mark the first time that WoW is digital download from day one. According to Blizzard CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime, Blizzard is currently “putting on the final polish,” and “look forward to welcoming gamers around the world to enjoy it in just a couple of months.”