Neverwinter Xbox One Reaches 1.6 Million Players, 5 Expansion to be Released

Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios have sent out a press release to announce that the Xbox One version of the free-to-play MMO Neverwinter has been played by 1.6 million players since its launch. Much of that can be attributed to the curiosity of many players, as the game launched only five weeks ago and this figure would include players that only tried the game and then abandoned it, so I’d invite our readers not to draw conclusions based on those numbers, but it certainly does seem like a healthy head-start.

Additionally, Cryptic is pledging to release five free expansions for the console version title this year, including, if I understand the announcement’s wording correctly, the Rise of Tiamat and Elemental Evil expansions that have already been released on PC. I imagine the Underdark expansion that was announced as part of the Rage of Demons storyline will also be released on Xbox One this year as part of the package.

Here’s the full press release:

NEVERWINTER XBOX ONE DRAWS OVER 1.6 MILLION PLAYERS

Five Additional Free Expansions Coming to Neverwinter in 2015

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. May 13, 2015 Today, Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading publisher of free-to-play MMORPGs, and Cryptic Studios announced that Neverwinter is the top free-to-play title on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, for 2015 with over 1.6 million players to-date. In an effort to keep the living world of Neverwinter fresh, Cryptic will be launching five free expansions in 2015 that will source material from popular Dungeons & Dragons’ storylines including Tyranny of Dragons and Elemental Evil.

In addition to the millions of players currently adventuring through the Forgotten Realms, Neverwinter players have also achieved incredible feats while battling iconic Dungeons & Dragons monsters in the first free-to-play MMORPG on Xbox One. These accomplishments include:

· 2.3 million characters created with over 92,000 reaching the level 60 cap
· 86 million minutes of Neverwinter played
· 16 billion Astral Diamonds earned
· 10 million parties formed
· Over 1 billion enemies slain including Undead, Orcs and Bandits
· 92 players have killed over 1,000 dragons

(As our first entry into the console market, we’re absolutely ecstatic to see the success of Neverwinter on Xbox One,) said Bryan Huang, CEO for Perfect World Entertainment. (Our goal with our online games is to create worlds that players want to play in, and support them through fine tuning their gaming experience and introducing fresh content with expansion releases.)

(As the first Xbox One game to ship globally from our partners at Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios, it is exciting to see Neverwinter achieve such early success,) said Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox. (We’re thrilled gamers have embraced this unique free-to-play MMORPG on Xbox One and look forward to seeing engagement grow on the platform with new content.)

Neverwinter on Xbox One brings a full-fledged roleplaying experience with a living social world allowing players to experience Dungeons & Dragons adventures with their friends. Neverwinter on Xbox One will also utilize console features including friends list integration and optimized controls to easily transition the MMORPG experience from PC to console.

Neverwinter is a free-to-play action MMORPG that features fast-paced combat and epic dungeons. Players explore the vast city of Neverwinter and its surrounding countryside, learning the vivid history of the iconic city in the Forgotten Realms and battling its many enemies. Neverwinter is currently available on PC and digitally for Xbox One, available free-to-play with Gold* from the Xbox Games Store.