Blizzard today announced the official release date for its recently delayed (story) expansion pack, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. The game will ship January 16, 2007 in North America and Europe, with other territories to follow shortly. While the basic expansion will sell for $39.99, a limited edition Collector's Edition will be available for $69.99. That set will include the standard CD version as well as a DVD version, an art book, an exclusive in-game pet, a documentary DVD, a starter deck and extra cards for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (update: Blizzard has clarified that the set includes two starter decks and three exclusive cards), a map-adorned mouse pad, and a soundtrack CD.

In other World of Warcraft news, Blizzard announced that its subscriber base for the game has reached a staggering 7.5 million worldwide. The company was sure to note that this figure does not include cancelled or expired subscriptions, or expired pre-paid cards. It includes current subscribers as well as users who have logged into the game from internet cafes within the past 30 days.