November 20, 2008
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the
Lich King Shatters Day-1 Sales Record
With more than 2.8 million copies
sold in its first 24 hours, Blizzard Entertainment’s second World of Warcraft
expansion is now the fastest-selling PC game ever
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today
announced that World of Warcraft’s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, has
sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability, making
it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. This eclipses the previous record of
nearly 2.4 million copies sold in 24 hours, set in January 2007 by Blizzard’s
first World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade. Wrath of the Lich King
was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and
Russia on November 13; Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand
on November 14; and South Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau
on November 18.
In celebration of the launch, more
than 15,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to
welcome thousands of expectant players. Several of these locations were attended
by Blizzard Entertainment representatives, who met players and signed copies of
the game.
“We’re grateful for the incredible
support that players around the world have continued to show for World of
Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment.
“Wrath of the Lich King contains some of the best content we’ve created for the
game so far, and we look forward to seeing even more players log in to
experience it in the days ahead.”
“World of Warcraft: Wrath of the
Lich King surpassed all sales expectations, with 100 Gamestation stores opening
at midnight to cater for a high level of demand,” said Andrew Thompson, product
director, Gamestation UK. “Players queued for hours – some dressed as characters
from the game – proving that enthusiasm for Blizzard Entertainment’s latest
installment is at its highest level to date."
Prior to the launch of Wrath of the
Lich King, World of Warcraft’s subscriber population had grown to more than 11
million players, further strengthening its position as the world’s most popular
subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
