Blizzard Entertainment Inc.’s latest World of Warcraft expansion has sold more than 3.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on the market.
The hot start for “Warlords of Draenor”—which was released Nov. 13 in North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia—pushed the Irvine-based company’s subscription base past 10 million players.
That milestone hasn’t been hit in years.
The popular fantasy role playing game has seen gradual declines in subscriptions as gamers spend more time and discretionary dollars on other forms of entertainment.
Subscriptions should get another boost this week with the expansion launched today in South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
Warcraft players pay about $40 for the game and $15 a month to play it online.
The franchise, by far Blizzard’s largest source of revenue, remains the No. 1 multiplayer role-playing game in the world.
The subscription count includes players who paid the fee, activated a prepaid card, had a free month of access, and logged in from Internet game rooms in the last 30 days.
