Blizzard Entertainment® announces World of Warcraft™
Blizzard prepares to redefine massively multiplayer gaming
LONDON, England - September 2, 2001 - During a press conference today at the European Computer Trade Show, Blizzard
Entertainment® unveiled
World of Warcraft™,
a massively multiplayer, online role-playing game set in the rich fiction of
Blizzard's Warcraft universe. Featuring bold 3D graphics and deep, immersive gameplay, World of Warcraft will allow thousands
of players to adventure together in this epic world and will provide them with a new, in-depth perspective on familiar lands,
former battlefields, and heroes from the legendary universe. In addition,
World of Warcraft will introduce new, uncharted
territories and foes never before seen by followers of the series.
World of Warcraft takes place four years following the aftermath of
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos™, where 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.
"
World of Warcraft is our largest undertaking to date," stated Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder.
"We are extremely focused on increasing the scope of the Warcraft universe, giving gamers an incredibly dynamic online gaming
experience complete with endless possibilities."
An action-packed combat system delivers fast, furious combat against multiple opponents, while minimizing delays between battles to
keep players on the move. A rich, evolving story and questing system will keep players engrossed as the world is regularly updated
with new content.
Fully customizable character classes, innovative races, and thousands of weapons allow for a truly diverse gameplay experience
that will appeal to both hard-core and novice gamers alike. A simple, intuitive user interface will allow players of various
skill levels to easily join the adventure.
World of Warcraft also features support for advanced graphics hardware, giving the
player superlative graphical enhancements, as well as a sophisticated, massively multiplayer network architecture capable of
supporting thousands of players in a world simultaneously.
Since its debut in 1994, the number-one selling
Warcraft
series has won industry acclaim and has shattered sales records worldwide
with nearly 5 million copies sold*. In 1996, Blizzard followed the well-received
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans™ with the critically
acclaimed
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness™,
which won multiple Game of the Year awards and is still considered by many critics to
be one of the best games ever made.
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos™;
will continue the legendary saga in 2002.
Best known for blockbuster hits including the
Warcraft® series,
StarCraft® and
Diablo™ series, Blizzard Entertainment®
(
www.blizzard.com), (a division of Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing) 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 four consecutive number-one 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.
*Based on units shipped
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