Blizzard has announced that World of Warcraft has now hit 5 million users world wide. The game has an average monthly fee around $15 which means they are bringing in around $75M a month in fees. With an expansion pack due next year the game does not appear to be slowing down at all.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT® SURPASSES FIVE MILLION CUSTOMERS
WORLDWIDE
Customer
base reaches new heights as Blizzard Entertainment®’s MMORPG continues its growth in North America,
Europe, and Asia
IRVINE, Calif. – December 19,
2005 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft®, its
massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has surpassed five
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®’s
recent announcement of a World of Warcraft
expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusadeâ„¢,
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 cofounder 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.â€
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 November 8, 2005.
As World of Warcraft’s population
grows, Blizzard continues to support the game with additional content through
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 website.
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 WarcraftÃ’, StarCraftÃ’, and DiabloÃ’ 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 #1-selling games and multiple Game
of the Year awards. The company’s free Internet gaming service, Battle.netÒ, reigns as the largest in
the world, with millions of active users.
