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[AlanOC91]

Legion - 3.3 Million Copies Sold
Sales numbers for Legion, with the total copies sold on Day 1 matching Warlords of Draenor and Cataclysm:

• The Burning Crusade - 2.4M First Day, 3.5M First Month
• Wrath of the Lich King - 2.8M First Day, 4M First Month
• Cataclysm - 3.3M First Day, 4.7M First Month
• Mists of Pandaria - 2.7M First Week
• Warlords of Draenor - 3.3M First Day
• Legion - 3.3M First Day

With Azeroth on the brink of destruction, heroes from around the world were summoned to drive back the Burning Legion’s armies last week with the launch of World of Warcraft®: Legion™, the sixth expansion to Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Today, Blizzard announced that players have forged a truly formidable defensive front—as of the expansion’s first full day of launch on August 30, more than 3.3 million copies of Legion had sold through, matching the all-time record achieved by previous expansions and making it one of the fastest-selling PC games ever. In addition, World of Warcraft’s launch-week player concurrency climbed to its highest point since the 2010 launch of the Cataclysm expansion, as champions from around the world united to strike a mighty first blow against the fel invaders. But the battle has only just begun.

“It’s been a thrill to see players hunting demons, powering up Artifacts, and freely exploring all the new zones in Legion,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We worked hard to make this the best World of Warcraft expansion yet, and we look forward to providing players with even more content as Legion’s epic story unfolds in the months ahead.”

While players are currently entrenched against the first wave of demonic invaders, Legion’s next exciting chapter is already in the works. Last weekend at PAX West, Blizzard unveiled new details on the expansion’s upcoming first major content update, Patch 7.1: Return to Karazhan, featuring a reimagined version of one of World of Warcraft's most popular raids. Players will explore a sprawling five-player Mythic dungeon, facing familiar foes from Karazhan’s past—and encountering plenty of surprises and twists along the way. The update also features a new set of quests unfolding over multiple weeks in the fallen night elf city of Suramar, as well as a brand-new raid: the Trial of Valor, which sends players deep into the vrykul underworld of Helheim.

 

[Nirolak]

I'm detecting a pattern.

 

[MassiveNights]

It has very good word of mouth so I expect the first month to be great too.

 

[Principate]

I'm detecting a pattern.

3.3M is the absolute cap!

 

[GOOCHY]

3.3 million hardcores buying every expansion

 

[rockx4]

That's quite impressive, I've been feeling the itch to get back in too.

 

[KLoWn]

Well deserved. Excellent expansion.

I'll be there to buy the next one too.

 

[Pineapple]

Good, I like to see WoW doing well - and selling more copies on day one than TBC or WotLK is impressive.

The challenge, obviously, is retaining those players via frequent content patches.

 

[SOR5]

How does it always hit 3.3

 

[Kill3r7]

Very impressive considering the age of the game. If nothing else they know they have a hardcore dedicated crowd of 3.3 million.

 

[borghe]

I mean... c'mon blizz... yes, there are 3.3m concurrent (or close enough) players who will be supporting you forever

with that being said... legion is easily the best expansion since Cata.. possibly even better than Cata.

 

[ratcliffja]

How was Panda so low compared to the others? That was an excellent expansion.

 

[strafer]

and only 2.8 million bought wotlk

and people praise that expansion

shaking my head

How was Panda so low compared to the others? That was an excellent expansion.

People dont notice excellent when its right in front of you.

 

[AlanOC91]

I mean... c'mon blizz... yes, there are 3.3m concurrent (or close enough) players who will be supporting you forever

with that being said... legion is easily the best expansion since Cata.. possibly even better than Cata.

So far, Legion is better than the second half of Cata.

I think the first half of Cata was just brilliant. Very hard to beat.

The second half of Legion could be pretty disappointing yet.

 

[Baleoce]

Why is there no first month figure for mists of pandaria and warlords of draenor?

 

[Nirolak]

How does it always hit 3.3

I imagine that's the approximate number of very hardcore Western players they have that are in it for the long haul, even if they take breaks between expansions.

Why is there no first month figure for mists of pandaria and warlords of draenor?

WoW's subscriber base peaked during Cataclysm so I imagine there's some stronger drop-off that started around Pandaria.

 

[Berordn]

I mean... c'mon blizz... yes, there are 3.3m concurrent (or close enough) players who will be supporting you forever

with that being said... legion is easily the best expansion since Cata.. possibly even better than Cata.

Leagues ahead of Cata, at least in terms of engagement and leveling experience. Can't speak to raids yet but already going through mythic dungeons with friends and it's the most fun we've had with the game in a long, long time.

 

[kswiston]

and only 2.8 million bought wotlk

That was just the first day. Considering the big jumps in userbase around the time of Wrath, I would guess that it did very well (unless everyone was content to run around capped at level 70)

 

[Meier]

It's very well done -- the unique aspect of what they've done with the enemy scaling is super cool and the design of the new areas is fantastic. Good time to give the game a shot again.. although I'll admit that I am a little disappointed at the skill changes and removal of buffs and stuff. The game has a very different feel, but they've made efforts to streamline it over the years.

 

[hamchan]

WoW still sells super when it's expansion launch time apparently.

Totally expect the cycle of people buying it to play through the levelling like a single player RPG, dabble in the endgame for a bit, then unsub and wait for the next expansion.

 

[dezzy8]

This game will last another 10 years.

 

[KojiKnight]

I imagine that's the approximate number of very hardcore Western players they have that are in it for the long haul, even if they take breaks between expansions.

Guilty party checking in.

WoW still sells super when it's expansion launch time apparently.

Totally expect the cycle of people buying it to play through the levelling like a single player RPG, dabble in the endgame for a bit, then unsub and wait for the next expansion.

Guilty of this as well.

 

[Recall]

All that money rolling in. I wonder how much Blizzards overheads are with running an MMO?

 

[Gattsu25]

I haven't been big into WoW since the beta and initial release days but this expansion is fucking great so far.

 

[Baleoce]

I imagine that's the approximate number of very hardcore Western players they have that are in it for the long haul, even if they take breaks between expansions.


WoW's subscriber base peaked during Cataclysm so I imagine there's some stronger drop-off that started around Pandaria.

Ah that would make sense.

 

[Retrofluxed]

I'm back playing and I quit right after Ruby Sanctum released (WoTLK). My friends and some family are also back playing again.

 

[strafer]

We have come a long way.

http://imgur.com/gallery/19mYP

 

[Ertai]

Well deserved, it really is a really great expansion

 

[Yoshichan]

There was someone on this forum who was ABSOLUTELY 100% CERTAIN that Legion wouldn't reach the release numbers of WoD. He was so positive of this because "none of his friends were interested in it".

Please, speak up now.

 

[strafer]

There was someone on this forum who was ABSOLUTELY 100% CERTAIN that Legion wouldn't reach the release numbers of WoD. He was so positive of this because "none of his friends were interested in it".

Please, speak up now.

Was it you? Come on, you can tell us.

 

[Spiritwalker]

It's an excellent expansion (so far). Well deserved.

 

[Makareu]

and only 2.8 million bought wotlk

and people praise that expansion

shaking my head

It is only the first day sale, not the total. And because wotlk was so very appreciated, Cataclysm broke the day one reccord. Not because Cata was awesome (who can say that day one) but just because it was coming after wotlk.

And then the subscriptions dropped off a cliff when Cata unfold.

 

[tedrotheredro]

3.3 millions crack addicts for life.

 

[strafer]

It is only the first day sale, not the total. And because wotlk was so very appreciated, Cataclysm broke the day one reccord. Not because Cata was awesome (who can say that day one) but just because it was coming after wotlk.

And then the subscriptions dropped off a cliff when Cata unfold.

Sure, but I expected wotlk to have a bigger first day sale, like 10 million or something.

That expansion reveal was pretty hype at Blizzcon.

 

[Yoshichan]

Was it you? Come on, you can tell us.

Fuck no. I was (and still am) negative towards Legion but I never said anything about sales - only quality.

 

[Sectorseven]

Does this mean they're confident enough to start posting subscriber numbers again?

 

[strafer]

Fuck no. I was (and still am) negative towards Legion but I never said anything about sales - only quality.

Oh wow, didn't know you were negative towards Legion. Oh well.

 

[Stormhammer]

its to commemorate patch 3.3 and the fall of arthas

 

[Anoregon]

Does this mean they're confident enough to start posting subscriber numbers again?

Unlikely, since a good portion of folks who buy new expansions only stay subbed for a month or two.

 

[Yoshichan]

Oh wow, didn't know you were negative towards Legion. Oh well.

I mean, this is a post by me when 7.1 trailer was released.

 

[kswiston]

This game will last another 10 years.

No doubt. WoW isn't even close to hitting that extended super-hardcore only phase of its lifespan that all MMOs settle into by the end. SOE/Daybreak is still putting out Everquest expansions (or they were as of last fall) for what has to be less than 100k active players by this point.

I have to imagine that WoW will still be worth supporting for 500k-1M monthly players many years from now, albeit with scaled down, digital-only expansions (no fancy CGI intros) and fewer servers.

 

[Aranjah]

So how many more people prepurchased it digitally in the months leading up to launch day? They were mainly pushing that, with the "preorder bonus" of being able to play Demon Hunters early and getting all the digital CE stuff early if you got the digital CE.

Or does the 3.3 million include prepurchase sales?

 

[Rexatality]

That's good. I admit, I was burned by WoD, but seeing the positive impressions makes me wanna take the plunge. Though I'm not sure if I have enough time to commit to it.

 

[mysocksarepink]

i love this expansion


~been playing since 2004~


edit: At first I refused to jump back in after hating WoD, but everyone in my guild came back and was loving it and the positive feedback from gaffers pushed me to get it


so happy I did it.

 

[KLoWn]

How was Panda so low compared to the others? That was an excellent expansion.

Because people are idiots and would rather run around and shout "kung-fu pandas LOL!" than experience the awesomeness that was MoP.

WoW still sells super when it's expansion launch time apparently.

Totally expect the cycle of people buying it to play through the levelling like a single player RPG, dabble in the endgame for a bit, then unsub and wait for the next expansion.

Yup, that's me nowadays.

 

[kswiston]

So how many more people prepurchased it digitally in the months leading up to launch day? They were mainly pushing that, with the "preorder bonus" of being able to play Demon Hunters early and getting all the digital CE stuff early if you got the digital CE.

Or does the 3.3 million include prepurchase sales?

Day 1 sales always count pre-purchases.

 

[Mister Zimbu]

I've been having a lot of fun with it so far, though the first month of an expansion isn't really a good gauge of its quality (people loved WoD for its first month, too).

Can't wait to hit 110 so I can burn myself out and resume hating Blizzard.

Because people are idiots and would rather run around and shout "kung-fu pandas LOL!" than experience the awesomeness that was MoP.

I'd credit it more towards Dragon Soul being terrible and the only thing to do for about two years at the end of Cata. It was the first major content drought that I can remember.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

How was Panda so low compared to the others? That was an excellent expansion.

by being awful

 

[sixteen-bit]

Congrats on the successful launch

 

[Bisnic]

Seems like even with the huge disappointment in WoD, the same people came back for Legion.

Wondering if they'll stay longer than 1-2 months this time though.