Blizzard says Cataclysm will "shake up" WoW

Blizzard production director J.Allen Brack has said that those expecting just an update to World of Warcraft with Cataclysm should be prepared for a "shake up".

"We look at game development as an iterative process, and we're continually polishing World Of Warcraft and building on what we've done in the past," Brack told MCV (via CVG). "Just to give you one example, Cataclysm gave us an opportunity to go back to the game's original zones and update the dramatically.

"Cataclysm is also shaking up the game in other ways, with new features and races added, altered landscapes, new zones, new professions, new dungeons and new raids, to ensure the game offers all of our players something new and exciting."

Announced back in August during BlizzCon,Cataclysm was rumored to be in the Alpha testing stage earlier in the month.

It's expected to be released sometime this year.