Happy Pilgrim's Bounty, everybody! That's the brand new Thanksgiving holiday going on right now in the World of Warcraft, where you can level up your cooking for cheap, chase turkeys around in-game, and even earn yourself the title of "Pilgrim." You'll find information about Pilgrim's Bounty and everything else in Warcraft over on Joystiq's sister site, WoW.com. Check out the links after the break for much, much more.

News

• Sam Raimi to direct the WoW movie
  Yup, the man who directed Evil Dead and Spiderman will be taking us on a cinematic tour of Azeroth.
• Bruce Campbell and Metzen on the movie at Comic-Con
  And if Sam Raimi is there, then you know Bruce Campbell can't be far behind. Gimme some sugar, baby.
• Hunter Q&A released
  Blizzard talks about all things Hunters, including a few hints at what we'll hear from BlizzCon.
• Dwarf levels solely by exploring, gains World Explorer at level 17
  This guy conquered the world before he could even get a mount to ride.
• WoW.com's Guide to patch 3.2
  The next patch is right around the corner -- here's your review on what's in it.

Features

• World of WarCrafts: My Lich King Pony
  Our weekly column spotlighting crafts from around the community shows off a kids toy that's been... Scourged.
• The Light and How to Swing It: Five things every Paladin must do.
  Got a Plate-wearing healer? Here's what you've got to do with them.
• Insider Trader: Woodworking in the expansion?
  "Woodworking" has long been rumored as a new profession in the game, and IT examines how it might be implemented.
• What do you expect from a WoW movie?
  We ask our readers just want they want to see in a movie about the World of Warcraft.
• More ideas for player housing
  Custom places for players in-game is an idea that's been around for a while, but here's a few new takes on it.

News

• WoW Insider interviews Tom Chilton on Patch 3.1 and beyond
  We talk to the game's lead designer on the latest updates, and what's coming up next.
• Star Trek references in the World of Warcraft
  We've all (well, most of us -- ahem, Alex and Dan) seen Star Trek and loved it, so we compiled this little list of sightings in game.
• WoWMatrix responds to Curse and WoW Interface
  There was a kerfluffle in the addon scene lately, and popular addon updater WoWMatrix finally responds.
• BlizzCon tickets on sale May 16th
  Blizzard's convention is returning to the Anaheim Convention Center, and it'll cost you $125 and some time in line to go.
  
• Flying in old world Azeroth
  Blizzard has long said it wouldn't be possible to allow flying mounts in the original game world. And here's why.

Features

• Disappointment the patch 3.1 game world
  Not everything is hunky dory after the latest update -- at least one of our bloggers is a bit bored.
• Officers' Quarters: Fragmentation
  Our column for guild officers takes a look at who should get the game's newest legendary.
• The OverAchiever: Glory of the Hero strikes back
  How to do one of the biggest achievements in the game.
• WoW, Casually: Guide to the latest features
  Not every WoW player is a hardened veteran -- for the newer folks, there's WoW, Casually.
• Arcane Brilliance: PvPing as a Fire Mage after patch 3.1
  What's new in the world of Mages? Our Mage blogger Christian Belt tells you.

Korean professional gamer Jae Ho "Moon" Jang has signed a three-year, $486,500 contract to play with WeMade FOX in the Korean gaming leagues. His manager is working on introducing more quality players as there "aren't many first-class players in Korea." Um, if you're, like, really good at Warcraft/StarCraft ... now's the time to start learning Korean.

Best part: Jang isn't even the highest paid professional Korean player, just the highest paid Warcraft player. Top billing goes to his WeMade FOX teammate, Yoon Yeoi "NaDa" Lee, who signed a contract for $521,250 to play StarCraft back in 2007. Wow.

[Via VG247]

If you consider yourself to be quite the wordsmith, we suggest turning your attention to a recently announced contest from the PC gaming juggernauts at Blizzard. The developer is currently asking literarily inclined fans to produce 3,000 to 10,000-word short stories set in the universe of the Warcraft, Diablo or Starcraft series. The author of the judges' favorite novelette gets a free ride to Blizzard HQ to meet the team's writing staff, and will take home a replica Frostmourne sword with which they can behead their harshest literary critics.

You can check out the official rules here. Yes, they're disqualifying entries containing any obscene or lewd activities -- so save your "throbbing" and "heaving" for your breathtakingly erotic Sonic the Hedgehog slash fiction.

[Via Big Download]

Here's something we never knew we wanted to know about: What kind of dreams game developers are having. MTV has answered the unasked with a new post, and the tales of cross-dressing as Mirror's Edge's' Faith and pet Balverines are so good we're tempted to start leading every interview off with a discussion about the subconcious.

MTV has also given us a great idea for a new, multi-platform IP from Joystiq Publishing: Imagine Recurring Dreamz. So look for All Your Teeth Are Falling Out this fall, Going To Places In Your Underwear next spring and Doing It With Your Third-Grade Choir Teacher While TV's Mr. Belvedere Looks On In Disgust in Q4 of 2009.

GameTrailers continues its Warcraft Retrospective by delving deep into the World of Warcraft, where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average. The episode covers how Blizzard employees conspired in the small town of Lake Wobegon to make a designer drug that would go on to hook 11 million people in its clutches. Clearly, Illidan was right: we were not prepared.

Wow, people interested in this piece actually made it this far? Seriously, don't y'all have a new continent to pillage and level cap to reach? For those who can't explore Northrend because they're stuck in a cubicle farm for the rest of the day, the video -- a cheap WoW fix -- can be found after the break.

[Via WoW Insider]

Despite appearances of similarities, Warhammer Online and World of Warcraft are very different games. Looking at screenshots and videos will only tell you so much, because it's under the hood where you'll find the differences. That's where this handy guide comes into play. It's here to explain why certain quests in WAR are considered "public" and what "instances" are really all about. Unlike our previous guide, this is for the total MMO newb.

The MMO genre has been slow to evolve. A primary reason being that games take a long time to come to market. So what's so special about these two games that you'd actually want to know the differences between them? Click on through to find out.

News

• Wrath sound files point to World Event
  Heavy spoilers here: before we step into the new expansion, our old world is going to change a bit.
• Wrath cinematic trailer unveiled
  Blizzard showed the cinematic for the first time at Leipzig. Arthas has left his throne and now he's summoning dragons.
• Sylvanas finally gets her makeover
  The most famous (former) High Elf in the game now looks the part.
• Engineering fun builds up in Beta
  Some excellent Engineering crafted items make their debut.
• Blizzard announces pre-Wrath content patch
  We're going to get a look at Wrath on the live realms even before the game comes out.

Features

• Ten things I hate about the Wrath beta
  Not in the beta? Here's a few reasons why you might want to wait for the live realms anyway.
• WoW Insider and WoW TCG Loot give away a Tabard of Flame
  All this week is your chance to win a hot (pun intended) in-game tabard.
• Ask a Beta Tester: Don't want to look like a clown edition
  AABT is our one-stop shop for all your beta testing questions.
• Hybrid Theory: Yet another Spell Power discussion
  Spell Power is one of the biggest changes coming -- find out exactly what it means to hybrids.
• The Care and Feeding of Warriors: When words are insufficient
  Our Warrior writer is speechless with joy over what's happening to his class in the expansion.

Earlier this week, Blizzard released a patch for Warcraft 3, known to some of you as "the game before World of Warcraft" and the rest as "the client for playing Defense of the Ancients." Patch 1.22a provides balance changes for the units, fixes some technical issues and includes four new maps. You can update the game by either logging onto Battle.net or by downloading the patches manually (available from BigDownload).

PC (1.22a requires patch 1.21b for installation)

• 1.21b for W3
  
• 1.21b for W3: The Frozen Throne
• 1.22a for W3
• 1.22a for W3:TFT
  

Mac (1.21b not required)

• 1.22a for W3
• 1.22a for W3:TFT
  

Last month, Blizzard also patched Diablo 2. We've placed full patch notes after the break.

[Via BigDownload]

Tabletop gamers are no strangers to the game Blood Bowl, which we mentioned back in November. The game has spanned 22 years, multiple editions and several expansion sets. The basic concept is "fantasy" football, literally. As in orcs, trolls, elves and the like playing an organized team sport where they try to tear their opponents' heads off. Check out the newly released, Warcraft-tastic trailer after the break.

Blizzard has launched a new online store, selling games (both digital and off the grid), books, collectibles, limited apparel and more. The store is now also offering titles for digital download -- right now only Starcraft and Warcraft III (as well as their respective expansion packs) are available, but according to this handy F.A.Q., more will be made available later.

As noted by WoW Insider, registering for the store enters you into a lottery to partake in an upcoming beta such as Wrath of the Lich King, Starcraft II or the as-of-yet unannounced (but we dream so very much) Rock and Roll Racing MMO.

[Via WoW Insider]