Blizzard scotches rumours of Xbox 360 announcements

World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment has flatly denied rumours that it is planning to unveil an Xbox 360 version of the immensely popular MMOG at its Blizzcon event this week.

Fans of the title had latched onto a presentation on the Blizzcon schedule titled "Microsoft Next Gen Platform," and were hoping for a revelation about the firm's plans for the Xbox 360 console.

However, the company has now altered the schedule on its website to clarify the situation - with the slot now labelled as "The Next Generation of Windows", a discussion about the Microsoft Vista operating system on the PC - and has stated that there will be no announcement of World of Warcraft on the Xbox 360 at the event.

Thus far, Blizzard has given no indication that it intends to bring the hugely successful MMOG - which has over four million subscribers worldwide - to the Xbox 360 platform, although Blizzard VP Paul Sams told GamesIndustry.biz earlier this year that the company has had discussion with Microsoft about the possibility.

"We've been in contact with Microsoft," he confirmed. "World of Warcraft was really built with a focus on PC, and while I think it certainly could get to Xbox, it's not something that at this moment we've decided to do."

"It would require certain input devices," he continued. "You know, a keyboard or a mouse - those are things that are not standard, they're peripherals, and peripherals have historically not done well for any of the console companies unless you're talking about additional controllers or memory cards."

Blizzcon opens its doors in California tomorrow, and while WOW on Xbox 360 won't be there, attendees will get a chance to see the forthcoming expansion pack for the game, The Burning Crusade, for the first time. The pack extends the level cap in the game to 70 and adds two new races as well as a major new area and a new profession, Jewelcrafting.