LONDON, England – February 3, 2004 – During a press conference held today, Blizzard Entertainment® announced plans to build a local World of Warcraft™ team in Europe. The team will be responsible for community relations, customer service, and technical support for the game. Additionally, they will manage the distribution and hosting of World of Warcraft on local European servers. With a regional team in place, Blizzard intends to affirm its commitment to the European game community by delivering a massively-multiplayer experience of unparalleled quality.

Based in France, the pan-European team will serve as an integral part of the game’s development process. In this role, they will help manage both text and voice localization, assist in the synchronization of development schedules, and communicate player feedback directly to the World of Warcraft development team. Furthermore, having a team located in Europe will provide gamers with faster response times, direct game master (GM) support, and personal communication with local call-center representatives dedicated to helping players with questions regarding gameplay and/or technical issues in their native languages.
“The European gaming community is very important to us,” stated Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “With a dedicated World of Warcraft team in Europe, we can provide players with an extraordinary level of customer service and community support.”

As further example of its commitment to gamers in Europe, Blizzard intends to make World of Warcraft available in French and German, as well as English. Further details regarding additional possible languages will be announced in the months ahead. Furthermore, Blizzard plans to release a beta version of World of Warcraft in Europe shortly following the North American beta test.

Building on the success of the Warcraft® series, Blizzard hopes to expand the MMORPG genre by creating a deep, immersive, user-friendly experience that will appeal to both veteran gamers and casual players alike. World of Warcraft takes place three years following the aftermath of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne‰, when a great tension has settled over the ravaged world of Azeroth. As the various races begin to rebuild their shattered kingdoms, new threats, both ancient and terrifying, have arisen to plague the world once again. Players must explore the lands of Azeroth, forge fellowships with other players, and build their strength in order to prevail.

Best known for blockbuster hits including the Warcraft series, StarCraft‚, and the Diablo series, Blizzard Entertainment (www.blizzard.co.uk, www.blizzard.fr, www.blizzard.de ), a division of Vivendi Universal 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 eight #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.