PARIS, France -- Blizzard Entertainment® today announced that World of Warcraft®: The Burning Crusade™ has broken the day-one sales record to become the fastest-selling PC game ever in North America and Europe, with a worldwide total of nearly 2.4 million copies sold in the first 24 hours of availability. The Burning Crusade, the first expansion set for World of Warcraft, was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia on 16 January, and on 17 January in Australia and New Zealand.

Blizzard had supplied more than 4 million game boxes to retailers worldwide, and more than 5,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players.

Day-one sales totals on both continents were similar, with an estimated total of nearly 1.2 million copies sold on the first day in North America and an estimated total of more than 1.1 million copies sold in Europe within the first 24 hours of launch.* By the end of the first day of availability on both continents, a total of more than 1.7 million players had already logged in and upgraded World of Warcraft to play The Burning Crusade.

"The Burning Crusade has already exceeded even our most ambitious expectations," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're pleased that so many players are eager to see all of the new content that the expansion has to offer, and we look forward to seeing everyone online as additional players continue to upgrade in the days ahead."

Retailers are continuing to report sustained demand, so if players have not yet purchased their copy of The Burning Crusade, they are advised to call ahead to make sure their store has copies on hand. Additional shipments of the expansion have been routed to retailers to help maintain stock levels.

"The excitement and sense of anticipation generated by the huge crowd at The Burning Crusade launch event far exceeded our expectations," said Tim Ellis, Head of Games for HMV, UK. "And in terms of units shifted, this was HMV's biggest launch event ever, and that includes Audio and DVD events."

"World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade was the first midnight opening for a game in the history of Media Markt and proved to be a tremendous success," said Bernhard Widmann, General Manager Purchasing at Media Markt Management GmbH, Germany. "World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade is the next milestone in the best selling PC games ever - after World of Warcraft of course."

"We are extremely pleased with the launch performance of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade," said Frank Centomain, Merchandising and Marketing Manager at EB Games Nordic. "The demand for this title in Nordic is massive; we had thousands of gamers lined up outside our stores for the midnight launch events who couldn't wait to get their hands on a copy. Burning Crusade has been the best-selling release in the Nordic company's history."

Prior to the launch of The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft was played by more than 8 million players around the world -- with more than 2 million on North American realms and more than 1.5 million on European realms -- making it the most successful subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game in PC-gaming history.

For more information on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, please visit the official website for the expansion at www.wow-europe.com/en/burningcrusade.

*Based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.

World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition
World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.

About Blizzard Entertainment®, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard-europe.com), a division of Vivendi Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating many of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard's track record includes nine #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's free Internet gaming service, Battle.net®, reigns as the largest in the world, with millions of active users.