Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase announced the official release date of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm in Mainland China.

The third expansion will be deployed there on July 12, but players can now download patch 4.1 data which is required to play Cataclysm.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm was approved by the China Software Test Center on June 1, 2011.

“With Cataclysm, we built on everything we learned since launching World of Warcraft to revitalize the game world for existing players and make it even more accessible to new ones. We’ve always appreciated Chinese gamers’ passion and support for World of Warcraft, and we’re excited that they’ll soon be able to enjoy all of the great new content this expansion has to offer.” — Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Morhaime

“Ever since it first launched in China, World of Warcraft has been one of the most popular online games among players here. With all of the new features and content it introduces, Cataclysm takes the game experience to a whole new level. We’re fully prepared on all fronts to provide great service and support to new and returning players throughout China, and we look forward to welcoming them to the revamped Azeroth.” — NetEase CEO William Ding