World of Warcraft Expansion Breaks Sales Records

We already knew that the second World of Warcraft expansion had done incredibly well in UK sales, only being beaten by Call of Duty: World at War. Blizzard Entertainment today announced that it actually sold 2.8 million units in its first 24 hours, making it the fastest selling PC game of all time.

According to Blizzard, the previous record was held by the game’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, which sold 2.4 million units in January 2007. Then again, both sets of numbers come from “internal company records and reports from key distribution partners,” so I’d expect the numbers to be a tad inflated.

“We’re grateful for the incredible support that players around the world have continued to show for World of Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO 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 of Gamestation UK. “Players queued for hours - some dressed as characters from the game - proving that enthusiasm for Blizzard Entertainment’s latest instalment is at its highest level to date."

With World of Warcraft subscriber’s already reaching 11 million, it’s no surprise that the expansion has done so well. Evidently, PC games are here to stay.