Another purported leak regarding World of Warcraft's next major expansion is being shared this weekend, yet again claiming to have evidence that the expansion is named Shadowlands. The leak, which very likely could be fake, shows an advertisement for what appears to be BlizzCon 2019 merchandise. The ad is for a t-shirt, as well as a fine art print, both advertised for WOW: Shadowlands. The print shows World of Warcraft character Bolvar wearing his Lich King Helm of Domination.
The advertisement appears to be a digital image of the annual BlizzCon brochure. These brochures typically allow BlizzCon attendees "Mystery" products like shirts and prints. The first product in the leak is listed as one such Mystery Shirt, a WOW Shadowlands Logo Shirt. The second product is listed as a Mystery Print, a WOW Shadowlands Fine Art Print. The print is also a limited edition item, with only 300 available. This also is in line with past BlizzCons, where limited Mystery Prints are common.
Beyond the product listings that directly reference Shadowlands, there's also a photo of what is supposedly the art print. It features Bolvar, the man burned by dragon fire who inherited the Lich King mantle after Arthas died. The art looks like a cinematic-quality image of Bolvar that hasn't been previously seen, to be sure. And scrutinizers have yet to find a different source for the image, depicting Bolvar wielding a large hammer with a glowing skull pattern on the side. The uniqueness of the image lends the leak credence.
This isn't the first time the Shadowlands expansion name has been leaked, either. Some time ago a photo of a presentation showing a mockup map of a new World of Warcraft region, a World of Warcraft: Shadowlands logo in its corner, leaked online. It was almost too good of a leak to be true. The question now is whether it was true, making this new Shadowlands a confirmation, or if both leaks are false and this new image is simply trying to build off a past leak.
World of Warcraft fans likely won't have to wait long for confirmation regarding the Shadowlands leak. BlizzCon 2019 starts on November 1, which is less than a week away. World of Warcraft's next expansion is speculated to be announced at the event. So for now, Shadowlands remains a pure rumor, as there's no truly meaningful confirmation of either related leak. To be fair, Blizzard does tend to be very leaky with regards to its forthcoming announcements, as the BlizzCon 2019 Diablo rumors hint at, but it's better to be skeptical than to fall for a fake.
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