Battle for Azeroth is World of Warcraft's next expansion

Blizzard's next World of Warcraft expansion has finally been announced. Titled "Battle for Azeroth," this new expansion aims to reignite age-old tensions between the Horde and the Alliance.

As you might expect from a new WoW expansion, Battle for Azeroth is launching with a wealth of new content for players to dive into. To start with, players will gain access to 6 new playable sub-races, 3 for each faction. The new Horde sub races will include the Highmountain Tauren, the Nightborne Elves and the Zandalari Trolls. Alliance players will be able to play as the Void Elves, the Lightforged Draenei and the Dark Iron Dwarves.

There is a catch, however. In order to access these races, players will first need to "earn their respect." Though Blizzard hasn't yet offered details on what that might mean, it's safe to assume that it will involve questing or a reputation grind of some sort.

In typical WoW fashion, Battle for Azeroth is bringing new leveling zones into the mix – with a twist. Instead of a single shared continent like we've seen in the past few WoW expansions, Battle for Azeroth will release with two new faction-specific continents, emphasizing the focus on the Alliance vs Horde conflict.

Horde players will be able to quest through the tropical land of Zandalar, while Alliance players will be visiting the seafaring kingdom of Kul Tiras. To make room for the abundance of experience these areas and their quests will inevitably bring, Blizzard has raised the level cap from 110 to 120.

Battle for Azeroth will also include the all-new "Warfronts" feature.

Warfronts will be "a new PvE mode inspired by classic Warcraft RTS battles."

In Warfronts, up to 20 players will work together to "claim a key strategic location," battle enemy commanders and siege specific objectives along the way. Though this may sound like more of a PvP-oriented activity, it's quite the opposite, according to Blizzard. Warfronts will be "a new PvE mode inspired by classic Warcraft RTS battles."

To learn more about the vast array of new features coming to WoW with Battle for Azeroth, visit the official expansion web page. If you're wondering when you can jump back into the fray for yourself, you'll have to wait a bit longer, Blizzard has yet to announced a final release date.