Chinese success pushes World of Warcraft past 3.5 million users

Blizzard's World of Warcraft is now officially the largest MMOG in the world, with the title boasting some 3.5 million paying subscribers worldwide - including 1.5 million in China, where the game only launched in early June.

This makes China into the single largest market for the game, with leading local MMO operator The9 acting as Blizzard's partner in the region and providing localisation and support services for the game.

For the Chinese launch, Blizzard changed the subscription model for the game substantially - moving it from the monthly subscription system seen elsewhere, to a system where players purchase game cards with a certain number of credits that allow them to play for a number of hours.

"World of Warcraft's success in China has quickly exceeded our expectations," commented Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, "and seeing Chinese gamers respond so enthusiastically to the game has been extremely gratifying."

"We thank the players for embracing World of Warcraft, our partner The9 for helping to make all of this possible, and the Chinese authorities for supporting Blizzard Entertainment," he concluded.

Blizzard hasn't finished expanding World of Warcraft yet, though; the company plans to launch in a number of Asian territories before the end of the year, including Taiwan, which is generally seen as the largest market in the region for MMOGs after South Korea.