WoW Insider has confirmed through anonymous sources that Wrath of the Lich King, the next World of Warcraft expansion, has entered closed alpha. Currently a very select and prestigious few players are being chosen to participate in the testing under strict NDA.

With the expansion now in alpha, it appears Blizzard really is shooting for a Fall 2008 release date, putting it up against EA Mythic’s Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, which is currently billed as the only upcoming MMO that stands a chance at loosening Blizzard’s deathgrip on the market.

Burning Crusade, WoW’s last expansion, missed the crucial holiday release window, arriving in January of 2007, but still dominated the PC sales charts for that year. Blizzard’s “when it’s done” mantra often causes the developer to miss ideal release dates, but if the company’s unending flow of self-congratulatory press releases are anything to go by, their unmatched production values do more for sales than a well-timed release ever could. As such, a 2009 release date is still very much in the running.

Expect plenty of impressions, screenshots, and spoilers when a unreasonably high percentage of World of Warcraft subscribors get access to Wrath of the Lich King’s beta later this year. As always, I’ll be excluded (left out of the cold, if you will! HA!), regardless of how many FigurePrints I order.

Breaking: Wrath of the Lich King is in alpha [WoW Insider]