Blizzard announced today that World of Warcraft is now played by 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. This should really come as no surprise to anyone since the game surpassed 11 million subscribers in October, but it does continue to demonstrate WoW's immense popularity when it can gain 500,000 subscribers in about two months.
Also, Wrath of the Lich King has sold more than 4 million copies in its first month, setting a new record for monthly PC-game sales. The expansion sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability alone.
You can read the full press release after the jump. For those of you who are curious what exactly being a subscriber entails, here's the definition: "World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards."
No tag for this post.IRVINE, Calif., Dec 23, 2008: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft庐, its award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is now played by more than 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. This new high was reached following the November 13 release of the game's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich KingTM.
Within its first 24 hours of availability, Wrath of the Lich King sold more than 2.8 million copies, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. In addition to winning a number of editor's choice awards from major gaming publications, the expansion has now gone on to sell more than 4 million copies in its first month, setting a new record for monthly PC-game sales. Both sales records were previously held by World of Warcraft's first expansion, The Burning Crusade庐.*
"We're pleased to welcome the new and returning players who have helped World of Warcraft reach these new milestones, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and support that the game's global community has continued to show," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment庐. "We look forward to providing all of them with an excellent entertainment experience for a long time to come."
"Not only is Wrath of the Lich King still doing well, the base World of Warcraft game and the World of Warcraft Battle Chest庐 are performing better than last year," said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop. "That type of traction is very impressive for a game that is going into its fifth holiday season and speaks to the enthusiastic player base Blizzard Entertainment products have."
To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities can be found at www.blizzard.com/jobs. More information about the latest World of Warcraft expansion is available at the official Wrath of the Lich King website: www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath.
World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition
World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft庐 and the Warcraft庐, StarCraft庐, and Diablo庐 series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com ), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes eleven #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net庐, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users.
*Based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.