"World of Warcraft continues to surpass all expectations as gamers around the world embrace it with overwhelming support," said Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We want to thank our players for their incredible response, and we promise to continue supporting World of Warcraft with more updates and content. The new Battlegrounds are just the beginning of greater enhancements to come."
World of Warcraft recently surpassed the two million mark for paying subscribers. Already the largest MMO in both North America and Europe, Blizzard expects to see even greater growth with the recent commercial launch in China on June 7, 2005. Anticipation for World of Warcraft was already at an all-time high in China, with peak concurrency during the open beta test topping 500,000 players, nearly equal to World of Warcraft's peak concurrency in all three current markets combined. Blizzard expects to see the new mark of two million subscribers shattered quickly with the arrival of players from China in the coming weeks.
Later in the year, World of Warcraft will also launch in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Even as World of Warcraft debuts in new markets, Blizzard continues to develop new content to keep the game relevant and exciting for current and incoming players. The recent deployment of Battlegrounds illustrates Blizzard's commitment to enhancing the World of Warcraft experience for all its players worldwide. Additional Battlegrounds and more content updates are scheduled throughout the year and beyond.
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