According to an image that briefly appeared in the flash rotation on top of Blizzard's online store, the Celestial Steed mount will soon be joining the World of Warcraft pet store as a purchasable in-game item. Update: They're live!
Back in November of last year, Blizzard began selling in-game pets at the Blizzard store. They were the first virtual items for World of Warcraft officially sold by Blizzard, and I suspected there would be more to come, should the first items offered sell well. With proceeds going to charity, the Pandaren Monk pet sold in excess of 220,000 units in the first two months. That's pretty big numbers for an item that doesn't technically exist.
So now Blizzard seems to be moving on to bigger and better virtual items, at least according to an image that briefly appeared in the flash banner that rotates atop the Blizzard store web page. In addition to an adorable Lil' XT companion, the Celestial Steed mount will soon be available for purchase.
Both of these items were slipped into the game in a March patch, and websites like MMO Champion have been trying to figure out where these new items drop ever since.
Now it seems we know why no one could figure it out.
According to the folks at MMO Champion, the mount speed will scale depending on the skill of the rider.
No price has been set for the mount yet, but odds are it'll be more expensive than the $10 asking price for the more ornamental in-game pets.
We've contacted Blizzard to verify the seemingly leaked image and for more information on pricing and availability, and will update this post when they respond.
This would be a good time for World of Warcraft players to get outraged, so it's out of their system by the time the mounts are released and they make their purchases.
UPDATE: The mounts are in the store now, for $25 a pop. Anyone buying?
Check out the link below for videos of the Celestial Steed and Lil' XT in action.
Celestial Steed and Lil'XT to be sold in the Blizzard Store [MMO Champion]