World of Warcraft is marking its 15th anniversary this year, and to celebrate the MMORPG's milestone birthday Blizzard have announced World of Warcraft Classic will be released on August 27.

Players and fans around the world will be able to relive - or experience for the first time - the early days of Azeroth.

From May 15, Blizzard will be inviting select players into a closed beta, while more will be brought in for stress tests from May through July. If you fancy participating, you can sign up here .

Once launched, the game will be included for all current subscribers at no additional cost and allow players to reexperience the moments that came to define early WoW, like 40-player raids on Molten Core, days-long PvP battles at Tarren Mill, and the grand, server-wide effort to open the gates of Ahn’Qiraj.

Get a dose of nostalgia with World of Warcraft Classic (
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Blizzard)

World of Warcraft Classic was initially announced at Blizzcon 2017 and according to J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment, remaking the beloved game wasn’t easy.

“Building and launching World of Warcraft back in 2004 was immensely challenging,” he said.

“A tornado literally tore the roof off one of the game’s data centers during the early days of testing - but Blizzard was fortunate to have hundreds, and then thousands, and then millions of people around the world cheering our developers on”.

Classic's arrival is part of Blizzard's celebration of 15 years of WoW (and 25 years of Warcraft).

Experience the original WoW (
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Blizzard)

15th Anniversary celebrations

To help celebrate the major milestone in Azeroth’s history, players are also invited to join in the festivities with an in-game event and a new Collector’s Edition box complete with a Ragnaros statue.

The collector’s boxset is due to be released on October 8 and will include a trove of collectibles and in-game bonus item.

The Collector's Edition contains a trove of merch (
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Blizzard)

Fans can expect the pack to come with 30 days of game time for World of Warcraft, an imposing statue of Ragnaros the Firelord that stands over 10 inches tall, a pin depicting the head of Onyxia, Broodmother of the Black Dragonflight, a mousepad adorned with a map of Azeroth, a set of fine art prints that illustrate Azeroth’s storied past, and a pair of mounts - the Alabaster Stormtalon, and the Alabaster Thunderwing - n honour of the moment WoW players first took to the skies.

There will be in-game events to mark the celebrations (
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Blizzard)

The commemorations will culminate in a 25-player raid (accessible through Raid Finder) that will pit players against some of the most iconic bosses from throughout the game’s history.

Players who make it through this epic trial will earn the Obsidian Worldbreaker mount, designed to evoke the terrible visage of the ancient Dragon Aspect Deathwing the Destroyer.

The World of Warcraft 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition will be available for SRP £89.99. Players can pre-purchase today at gear.blizzard.com and at select retailers worldwide.