Blizzard Entertainment announced that
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has sold over 4.7 million copies around the world in just a month, and said it's the "fastest-selling PC game of all time."
Cataclysm, the third expansion for the MMORPG, released in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Argentina, Chile, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in early December,
moving 3.3 million units in the first 24 hours of its availability.
The publisher said
World of Warcraft's previous expansion,
Wrath of the Lich King, was the previous fastest-selling PC game ever, according to its internal records and reports from distribution partners. That 2008 title sold 2.8 million copies in its first day of release.
World of Warcraft and its expansions have consistently outperformed all PC titles during their launch years -- the original game outsold all other PC releases in 2005 and 2006,
The Burning Crusade did the same in 2007, and
Wrath of the Lich King was the bestselling PC game in 2008.
Prior to
Cataclysm's launch, the
World of Warcraft's audience
reached over 12 million players. It currently has a larger userbase than any other subscription-based games, but its growth slowed in the previous two years since
Wrath of the Lich King's release, floating around 11.5 million players.
"We created thousands of new quests, introduced new lands to explore, and extensively revamped the game world for
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, making it our biggest and most ambitious expansion yet," said Blizzard Entertainment's co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime.
Morhaime added, "We’ve been floored by the community's response so far, and we'd like to thank them for their continued passion and support for World of Warcraft, and for helping
Cataclysm reach this incredible milestone."
