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World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King Unveiled First ScreenShots

Blizzard Entertainment today announced plans for the second expansion to World of Warcraft, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Unveiled at the company’s BlizzCon gaming festival before an audience of more than 8,000 gamers, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will open the forbidding wasteland of Northrend to exploration by the hardiest adventurers. New levels of power, challenging new dungeons and encounters, an exciting new character profession, and the game’s first hero class are just some of the new features awaiting players in Wrath of the Lich King.

“This expansion will add some of the most infamous characters and settings from the Warcraft universe to World of Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “In addition to new story content, Wrath of the Lich King will introduce a number of features specifically requested by players over the past couple of years. We’re looking forward to sharing further details with everyone as development progresses.”

Players last visited Northrend in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner’zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful beings in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the forces of the Alliance and the Horde will venture into battle against the Scourge amid Northrend’s howling winds and fields of jagged ice.

Building on the foundation established in World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King will add a rich variety of content to an already massive game. New features coming with the game’s second expansion include:

• Death Knight Hero Class: Create a high-level Death Knight character - the game’s first hero class - once certain challenges have been met.
• Increased Level Cap: Advance to level 80 and gain potent new talents and abilities along the way.
• Northrend: Explore the harsh new continent of Northrend, packed with new zones, quests, dungeons, monsters, and items - and do battle with the undead armies of the Lich King.
• “Inscription” Profession: Learn this exciting new profession and gain unique ways to permanently enhance spells and abilities in the game.
• Siege Weapons and Destructible Buildings: Take the battle to another level with new player-vs.-player game mechanics and new battlefields to wage war on.
• New Character Customization: Change how characters look and express themselves, with different hairstyles and dance animations.

Since launching in November 2004, World of Warcraft has become the world’s most popular MMORPG, with a subscriber base of more than 9 million players. The game’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, broke PC-game sales records in North America and Europe by selling nearly 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability and approximately 3.5 million copies in its first month. World of Warcraft is available in seven different languages and, in addition to North America and Europe, is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

World Of Warcraft Surpasses 9 Million Subscribers

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has reached a new milestone, with a player base now totaling more than 9 million subscribers worldwide. The company is currently working with its partner for World of Warcraft in China, The9, to prepare the game’s first expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, for launch in mainland China and anticipates an influx of new and returning subscribers in conjunction with that event.

“We’re thrilled that gamers around the world have continued to embrace World of Warcraft so enthusiastically,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve worked hard to provide a compelling experience for our players, and we plan to continue updating the game with exciting new content for them to enjoy for many years to come.”

Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006* and has remained at or near the top of the weekly PC-game sales charts for much of 2007 as well. Blizzard’s Burning Crusade expansion released to critical acclaim in several regions earlier this year and shattered PC-game sales records in North America and Europe, with nearly 2.4 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of release and approximately 3.5 million in its first month. World of Warcraft is available in seven different languages and, in addition to North America and Europe, is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.