World of Warcraft news:

Today was the second public day of gamescom 2012, and our second Mists of Pandaria Leveling Contest. This time it was Mark-Hendrik Moll who was the first to make it through the pandaren starting zone to level five, taking home an awesome Sindragosa and the Lich King set from Mega Bloks.

Remember that the European World of Warcraft Invitational takes place this Sunday, August 19. The top eight arena teams from all over Europe will compete to see who stands above the rest in mighty glory!

Every week this summer, we’re challenging you to get together with a few friends to explore a part of Azeroth that you may not have seen in a while, or perform a feat that you may have never done. They're World of Warcraft Summer Challenges, and we’re going to be playing along with you as we hunt down rare achievements, get screenshots of amazing bosses, and try to find some awesome gear for our transmogrification sets.

You definitely won’t want to miss the exciting eSports activities that await you at the Blizzard booth at gamescom 2012. You’ll be able to watch StarCraft II show matches every public day of the event, as well as live World of Warcraft raids with top international guilds, and the 2012 European World of Warcraft Invitational!

gamescom has opened its doors to the public, and Blizzard Entertainment is right in the middle of all the action! Today was the first fully public day of the event, and excitement is already mounting at the Blizzard booth. The highlight of the day was definitely the world premiere of the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria opening cinematic.

You've ended Deathwing's destructive rampage and saved the dragonflights from extinction. Now you must unlock the mysteries of the lost continent and discover the dark secrets of Pandaria's past. Explore ancient kingdoms hidden since before the Sundering, plunder vast treasures from the depths of the forgotten vaults, and rise to defend Pandaria from the shadow of a long buried evil - before it's too late.

The following instructions are intended for players on North American servers only. As a precaution following our recent security update, players on North American servers please take a moment to visit Battle.net account management, where you will be prompted to change your security question as well as update your Mobile Authenticator.

As with any new expansion, we often find that we have an opportunity to take a closer look at a variety of game systems within World of Warcraft and explore new ideas or improvements to the game. One system in particular is held near and dear to the hearts of the community: professions. With Mists of Pandaria, the designers were able to seize upon an opportunity to look at the role of materials and refine their purpose and their usefulness. In the end, they came up with Spirit of Harmony as the new resource du jour.

We recently began revealing the Scenarios you’ll experience at level 90 in World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria on our preview site. As the final tweaks are being made, we thought it would be a good time to sit down with Senior Game Designer Dave Maldonado and Game Designer Jonathan LeCraft for a little behind-the-scenes perspective on this unique new system.

Arena and Rated Battleground Season 11 is scheduled to end on Wednesday, August 29. At that point, we will determine who is eligible for the end-of-season rewards, a process that should take approximately one week. It's very important for players who feel that they may be eligible for Arena titles and/or the Cataclysmic Gladiator’s Twilight Drake to refrain from transferring their characters to another realm or faction until after Season 11 ends. The awarding of Season 11 titles and mounts will occur approximately 1 week after the season ends.

We’ve just released two new previews to get you primed for Mists of Pandaria!

The Battle.net World Championship event — the culmination of over 30 StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) tournaments and home to the upcoming World of Warcraft Arena global finals — will take place November 17 and 18 in Shanghai, China. With so many talented players competing to be crowned 2012’s world champion, we want to see faces from all over the world in the crowd, cheering on their hometown heroes.

The world’s biggest games convention begins this Wednesday, August 15, in Cologne! Be sure to stop by the Blizzard Entertainment booth in Halle 6.1 (B21) at the Koelnmesse for some unforgettable activities and a sneak peek at our newest games.

It’s time to see which arena team reigns supreme in the 2012 European World of Warcraft Invitational at gamescom!

Please click here to read an important security update about your Battle.net account.

Every week this summer, we’re challenging you to get together with a few friends to explore a part of Azeroth that you may not have seen in a while, or perform a feat that you may have never done. They're World of Warcraft Summer Challenges, and we’re going to be playing along with you as we hunt down rare achievements, get screenshots of amazing bosses, and try to find some awesome gear for our transmogrification sets.

With the upcoming release of Mists of Pandaria, the Scroll of Resurrection system will be updated to accommodate the new talent specialization system, monk class, and pandaren race.

You’ll definitely want to stop by the Blizzard booth at gamescom 2012 to try out our newest games and witness the array of entertaining activities on our stage. But you’ll also have the chance to participate in our contests and quizzes to win some incredible prizes from our partners!

At Blizzard, we believe that “Every Voice Matters.” To that end, we’d like to extend an invitation to our community to join us at gamescom 2012 for round table meetings with members of the Blizzard Community team, where we’ll sit down and talk about our games.

Check out the Mists of Pandaria preview website and get a first glimpse at one of the two new roaming world bosses: Salyis’s Warband! These extremely powerful monsters will do everything in their power to make your life more... “interesting” as you explore the mysterious continent of Pandaria.

Every week this summer, we’re challenging you to get together with a few friends to explore a part of Azeroth that you may not have seen in a while, or perform a feat that you may have never done. They're World of Warcraft Summer Challenges, and we’re going to be playing along with you as we hunt down rare achievements, get screenshots of amazing bosses, and try to find some awesome gear for our transmogrification sets.

This week’s challenge is: Trial of the Crusader.

On September 25, 2012, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria will launch, ushering in a new age of exploration and conflict for the Horde and the Alliance. Soon, the lost continent of Pandaria will emerge from legend, bringing with it a host of exciting new game features -- including some challenging and rewarding new raid content.

Get ready for a new look. Through this weekend, and for a limited time only, you can change your World of Warcraft character’s race for 25% off the regular price!

You can now read more about the Mists of Pandaria Scenarios feature in our updated expansion preview website! Check out our sneak peek at two of the scenarios you and your friends will be able to play in Mists of Pandaria: A Brewing Storm and Greenstone Village.

If you fancy yourself an explorer eager to set an early foot, hoof, or paw on the long-hidden continent of Pandaria, be sure to enter the Mists of Pandaria Beta Key Sweepstakes! Starting July 31, we'll be randomly selecting 2,000 winners each week to receive a key to our exclusive World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria beta test.