WoW is burning! On January 16, 2007!

Grab the nearest Tauren and hug him hard (but watch out for the horns) - Blizzard's World of Warcraft expansion The Burning Crusade will be out on January 16, 2007 in Europe and North America.

The confirmed release date follows recent news on Blizzard's decision to delay the expansion, which pushed it back from its expected November 2006 release.

Anyone living in Korea, Australia, new Zealand and Singapore can expect the expansion to hit around the same time. Release dates for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are to be announced in the near future.

"While World of Warcraft has continued to grow rapidly along with its player population, The Burning Crusade will represent our single largest addition of new game content and new features to date," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.

"With this expansion, we're looking forward to offering the same level of quality that players have experienced in World of Warcraft so far, and we'll continue balancing and play-testing up until launch to ensure that The Burning Crusade achieves that goal."