World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Hitting China Next Week

Blizzard Entertainment fired over a press release this morning announcing plans to finally launch their World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack in mainland China on August 31st.  We also learn that the game is still hosting nearly 12 million paying subscribers: 

WORLD OF WARCRAFT®: WRATH OF THE LICH KINGâ„¢ TO LAUNCH IN MAINLAND CHINA ON AUGUST 31, 2010

SHANGHAI, CHINA — August 24, 2010 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and NetEase.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) today announced that World of Warcraft®: Wrath of the Lich Kingâ„¢, the second expansion for Blizzard Entertainment’s award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), will launch in mainland China on August 31, 2010.

“We appreciate the continued passion and support that Chinese players have shown for World of Warcraft, and we’re working hard to ensure that they have a topnotch gaming experience when Wrath of the Lich King is released,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “This expansion contains some of the best content we’ve ever created for the game, and we’re excited that Chinese players will soon have a chance to explore everything it has to offer.”

“World of Warcraft is one of the most popular online games among Chinese players, and we believe that the new content in Wrath of the Lich King will generate even more excitement,” said William Ding, CEO of NetEase. “We are fully prepared on all fronts to provide great service and support to all of the new and returning players throughout China, and we look forward to welcoming them to Northrend.”

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King sends players to the cold, forbidding continent of Northrend, where the fearsome Lich King Arthas Menethil, last seen in Warcraft® III: The Frozen Throne®, works from his secluded citadel to bring all of Azeroth under his twisted dominion. Players will battle the Lich King’s army from the shores of Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra to the seat of his power in Icecrown. In addition, players will be able to advance characters to level 80 and gain powerful new abilities while exploring several new zones and dungeons. The expansion also introduces a number of exciting new features, including expanded player-vs.-player combat options such as siege weapons and destructible buildings, as well as the game’s first Hero class — the death knight.

Since launching in November 2004, World of Warcraft has become the world’s most popular MMORPG, with a current global player base of more than 11.5 million subscribers. For more information on World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, visit the official website at www.warcraftchina.com.

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 NetEase.com Inc.
NetEase.com, Inc. is a leading China-based Internet technology company that pioneered the development of applications, services and other technologies for the Internet in China. NetEase’s online communities and personalized premium services have established a large and stable user base for the NetEase websites which are operated by its affiliates. In particular, NetEase provides online game services to Internet users through its in-house development or licensing of massively multi-player online role-playing games, including Fantasy Westward Journey, Westward Journey Online II and III, Tianxia II, Heroes of Tang Dynasty and Datang, as well as the licensed game, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft.