Burning Crusade Classic beta keys: We're giving away 300 codes for beta access

Update: The giveaway is over. Thank you to everyone who entered and be sure to check your email (including your spam folder) as codes have been sent out.

Original story: World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic launches later this year, but you don't have to wait to venture through the Dark Portal. Blizzard has given us 300 beta keys that will grant you unlimited access to the ongoing closed beta. That means getting a sneak peak at WoW's very first expansion, resurrected exactly as it existed in 2007.

With a beta key, you'll be able to go beyond the Dark Portal on special beta servers and explore the vast reaches of Hellfire Peninsula, the spooky swamps of Zangarmarsh, and more. Just keep an eye on the sky at all times because if its anything like the original Burning Crusade, players will drop everything to score a cheap gank by divebombing you atop their new flying mounts.

The beta servers are live 24/7, so you can play to your heart's content. Just remember that progress you make on the beta won't carry over to the full game. So don't go too crazy, yeah?

To enter the Burning Crusade Classic giveaway and get a chance to win one of 300 codes, all you need to do is fill out the form above (If you don't see the form above, try this link). You'll be added to the list of potential recipients, and then on Monday at 12 pm PDT 300 people will be randomly selected and given a beta access code. To redeem it, all you need to do is open the Battle.net client, head to the shop and select the "redeem code" option from the drop-down menu. You don't need a WoW subscription, just a Battle.net account. The beta will last until around the launch of Burning Crusade Classic, but we don't have an exact timeframe. Probably expect these codes to work for a month or two.

World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Classic is exactly what it sounds like: a special set of servers that emulate what it was like to play WoW's first expansion when it first launched back in 2007. Burning Crusade Classic is a continuation of the hugely popular WoW Classic servers that launched a few years ago and is included for free in a WoW subscription.

Unlike WoW Classic, though, Blizzard is making some changes based on community feedback. New players will be able to purchase a one-time level boost so they can jump in straight away, and Burning Crusade Classic raid bosses will be based off their original, much more challenging versions since everyone is too good at the game now.

With over 7 years of experience with in-depth feature reporting, Steven's mission is to chronicle the fascinating ways that games intersect our lives. Whether it's colossal in-game wars in an MMO, or long-haul truckers who turn to games to protect them from the loneliness of the open road, Steven tries to unearth PC gaming's greatest untold stories. His love of PC gaming started extremely early. Without money to spend, he spent an entire day watching the progress bar on a 25mb download of the Heroes of Might and Magic 2 demo that he then played for at least a hundred hours. It was a good demo.