This is a rock-star moment for Shane Dabiri. He's the producer of the world-conquering World of Warcraft, standing in front of 6000 Blizzcon attendees, about to announce the first details of the World of Warcraft expansion.

But his players are uppity. Much of the detail of his presentation, and the introduction of a new race, the Blood Elves, has found its way on to the web already. It's going to have to be quite a show to satisfy this audience.

All it takes is a little flash of charisma to turn the tide. Shane bounds on stage, flashes the horns of rock, then starts with a series of snappy, crowd-pleasing statements, clearly playing to the dreams and requests of the hardcore fans who sit in front of him.

"You're going to discover the Caverns of Time, where you'll be able to journey backwards, fighting battles you played in Warcraft 3 and Warcraft 2," he says.

"You'll be able to buy Nether Dragon Flying Mounts in a whole new area, the Outlands. There's a new profession – jewel crafting – and we're introducing 'socketed items' for further customisation to your weapons and armour. And we're going to introduce linked auction houses in every major city."