IRVINE,
Calif.--Dec. 19, 2005--Blizzard Entertainment Inc. today announced
that World of Warcraft(R), its massively multiplayer online role-playing
game (MMORPG), has surpassed 5 million customers worldwide. The
subscription-based MMORPG launched approximately one year ago in North
America, Australia, and New Zealand and has since released in multiple
countries throughout Europe and Asia. This latest milestone comes on the
heels of Blizzard Entertainment(R)'s recent announcement of a World of
Warcraft expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade(TM), which
will push the boundaries of the game and offer even more content and
features for players.
"World
of Warcraft's growth continues to exceed all our expectations,"
said Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment.
"We want to reiterate our thanks to the millions of players
worldwide and to all the retailers who have enthusiastically supported
the game over the past year. Our commitment to continue growing World of
Warcraft is stronger than ever, with development on future content
patches and on our 2006 expansion, World of
Warcraft:
The Burning Crusade, well underway. We look forward to offering even
more content for current customers in the months ahead and welcoming new
players into the world this holiday season."
With
a strong presence across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America,
World of Warcraft has quickly become the world's most popular MMORPG.
Most recently, the game was launched in the regions of Taiwan, Macau,
and Hong Kong on Nov. 8, 2005.
As
World of Warcraft's population grows, Blizzard continues to support the
game with additional content through
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regular patches and
a planned expansion pack, set to release in 2006. World of Warcraft: The
Burning Crusade will add new lands, quests, monsters, magic items,
spells and abilities, two new player races, a new player profession, 10
new levels of power for players to achieve, and much more. Additional
information on the expansion and the game's regular content updates can
be found at the official World of Warcraft Web site.
World
of Warcraft's Customer Definition
World
of Warcraft customers include individuals who have paid a subscription
fee or purchased a prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as
those who have purchased the installation box bundled with one free
month access. Internet Game Room players that have accessed the game
over the last seven days are also counted as customers. The above
definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions,
expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired pre-paid cards.
Customers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.
About
Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
Best
known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft(R), StarCraft(R), and
Diablo(R) series, Blizzard Entertainment Inc. (www.blizzard.com),
a division of Vivendi Universal Games, is a premier developer and
publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the
industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard's track record
includes nine No. 1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards.
The company's free Internet gaming service, Battle.net(R), reigns as the
largest in the world, with millions of active users.