Time to Get Your Lich King On

By Joe Haygood | November 13, 2008

With much fanfare and anticipation, the newest World of Warcraft release, Wrath of the Lich King, has hit store shelves around the world.  This time around, Blizzard has increased the level cap to 80 for those that feel the need to top the level charts.  Also, a new area is opened to explore, with quests geared towards these higher level characters.  The story in Lich King deals with the land of Northend, where you will fight the undead minions of Lich King Arthas Menethil, who would like to end all life in Azeroth.

If you were lucky enough, you may have gotten the game early at a convenience store that loves to break street dates, now you can get it everywhere for the low price of $19.99, along with that convenient $14.99 monthly fee.  Click the jump for the full press release.

World of Warcraft(R): Wrath of the Lich King(TM) in Stores Now
Second expansion for Blizzard Entertainment(R)’s massively
multiplayer online role-playing game launches in multiple regions this
week

IRVINE, Calif., Nov 13, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft(R): Wrath of the Lich King(TM), the second expansion for the world’s leading massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is now on sale in North America, Europe, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Russia. The expansion will be in stores beginning November 14 in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, and available on November 18 in Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Details regarding the launch of Wrath of the Lich King in mainland China will be announced at a later date.

“Wrath of the Lich King contains some of the best content we’ve created for World of Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment(R). “We appreciate the valuable feedback from our beta testers and the continued enthusiasm and dedication of players around the world, and we look forward to seeing them in Northrend.”

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King sends players to the cold, forbidding continent of Northrend, where the malevolent Lich King Arthas Menethil seeks to bring an end to life on Azeroth. Players will fight Arthas’ undead army and unravel the mysteries of Northrend as they quest through new zones and dungeons, acquire potent new skills and abilities, engage in epic open-world player-vs.-player warfare with siege vehicles and destructible buildings, wield the runic power of World of Warcraft’s first Hero class — the death knight — and much more.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is now available at retailers on DVD-ROM for Windows(R) XP/Vista and Macintosh(R) at a suggested retail price of $39.99. A special Collector’s Edition of the expansion is also available at a suggested retail price of $69.99. This limited-edition package includes the expansion, The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King hardcover book, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game starter packs and two exclusive cards, a mouse pad featuring a map of Northrend, and the official World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King soundtrack CD.

On November 13, the official soundtrack will also be available for purchase and download on the iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com), with three exclusive tracks available only on iTunes.

The Wrath of the Lich King expansion requires the original World of Warcraft game, available for a suggested retail price of $19.99, along with World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade(R), which sells for $29.99. These two products are combined in the World of Warcraft Battle Chest(R), available for $39.99. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King has received a Teen rating from the ESRB.

For more information on World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, please visit the official website for the expansion at www.worldofwarcraft.com/wrath.

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 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft(R) and the Warcraft(R), StarCraft(R), and Diablo(R) series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes ten #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net(R), is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” “future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming,” and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales of Blizzard Entertainment’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Blizzard Entertainment’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard’s success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated. Other such factors include additional risk factors identified in Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.