Blizzard Entertainment launchedWorld of Warcraft’s eighth expansion,Shadowlands, on November 23. Players have been busy exploring Azeroth’s version of the afterlife ever since, taking on new quests and dungeons to find rare loot andgrind theirWorld of Warcraftcharacters to level 60, the new cap. There are more people playing out these new scenarios than the game has seen in years, according to Activision Blizzard, after the MMORPG reportedly hit a new sales milestone.
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All-and-all, totalWorld of Warcraftplayer time has “nearly doubled” compared to a similar period of time last year, though the exact metric used is not specified in this press release. The popular developer expects this attention will be maintained for the weeks and months ahead due to the launch ofShadowlands' first raid, Castle Nathria; its Mythic Keystone dungeons; and the upcoming rated PvP season.
World of Warcraftreleased in 2004, and has been a cornerstone of the video game industry and popular culture as a whole ever since. The continual addition of content such asLegendary Armor to upgrade inShadowlandsand in prior expansions has given fans reason to stay invested, even if some of those expansions have been more popular than others.
Blizzard recognizes that some fans are more interested in returning to an older, simpler time inWorld of Warcraft’s existence, and released a classic version of the game to facilitate that.World of Warcraft Classicrecently added the Naxxramas Raid, considered to be the most difficult challenge prior to the MMO’s first expansion,Burning Crusade. The raid requires 40 players to tackle.
Regardless of whether players are taking on Castle Nathria or Naxxramas, clearly Blizzard Entertainment’s online game continues to resonate with many around the world. The high player count reported by Activision Blizzard Investor Relations suggestsWorld of Warcraft’sShadowlandsexpansion may be a return to form for the MMO, and its likely fans can expect to learn more about what’s coming next during the online-only BlizzCon early next year.
