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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsVivendi earning statement hints WotLK to be released in second half of 2008
by Adam Holisky 
May 14th 2008 at 3:45PM
Vivendi earning statements announced today hint that Wrath of the Lich King is expected to be released the second half of 2008. This would also fit into dates that we've seen on sites like Amazon and Gamestop. This is also significant in that it's the first time an official confirmation of a release time frame has come out. And being that this is the data sent to Vivendi investors, it comes with a good bit of clout.
Additionally, the statement tells us that World of Warcraft now has 10.7 million subscribers, up from 10 million at the end of 2007.
The exact paragraph in the statement is after the break. And of course, stay tuned to WoW Insider for all the latest Wrath of the Lich King news.
From the Vivendi press release today (emphasis added):
"Very good operating achievements were offset by non recurring or calendar impacts: the first quarter of 2007 included notably the successful launch of the first expansion set World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (the second expansion set is anticipated to be released in the second half of 2008) and the favorable settlement of a tax litigation."
"Vivendi Games continues to make strong headway with Blizzard Entertainment, inc and World of Warcraft ®, adding 2 million incremental subscribers compared to end of March 2007; After reaching the 10-million-subscriber milestone at the end of 2007, World of Warcraft's subscriber base grew to more than 10.7 million by the end of the first quarter of 2008.
A comparison of the first quarters of 2007 and 2008 performances is not representative because the first quarter of 2007 included the hugely successful release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Blizzard Entertainment's second expansion, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2008."
Filed under: News items, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Strumgarde May 14th 2008 4:24PM
Also they might be referring to a financial year and not a calendar year which might not be the same.
slayerboy May 14th 2008 4:32PM
Blizz NEVER sets release dates.....I think they're throwing this in there just to cover themselves. My worry is what happens if they miss the release schedule like they have? Obviously this now affects financials for investors. I'm not so sure how I feel about them answering to stock holders now.
Bob May 14th 2008 4:34PM
I'll go with the November estimates as well. Hottest Christmas Present of 2008 anybody?
Angelus May 14th 2008 5:36PM
None of us crack head WoW addicts will wait a whole month for Christmas :( Maybe 'early' christmas present. :)
Zarzuur May 14th 2008 5:36PM
Releasing a snowy-themed expansion in the winter, it makes marketing sense.
Chuddy May 14th 2008 4:45PM
if no expansion, then they'll put out the patch with new talents. at worst it will be a early 09 release.
But I just don't see them not cashing in on the cashcow that wow is.
Kz May 14th 2008 5:17PM
If you look carefully at the Blizzcon announcement, you will see a statement that participants will get hands on to an 'upcoming release' of Wow. This would seen to imply WotLK to be released after Blizzcon. So I expect a November release.
darian May 14th 2008 5:28PM
I personally expect a November release... to get pushed back to January again.
But we'll have all the new talents, and the release prelude, by October.
Ross May 14th 2008 5:36PM
Just investor spin mostly, and to start the anticipation for the institutional investors that don’t really do too much digging of their own, the only real reason that they would release a game early is to quell the complaints of the actual players or if Vivendi needed a cash/revenue push to offset something else (acquisition/ large loss/ manage earnings). The release of this expansion and the future revenues associated with should already be included in Vivendi’s stock price as of the date that they announced there would be an expansion. What’s up in the air is how successful the release of the expansion is and how many players sign up. It is a good bet that if Blizzard releases the expansion on their own schedule it will retain much more players than if it releases on Vivendi’s schedule which is normally dictated by investors. I would bet they will keep on Blizzard’s schedule as they have already proven that the extra time necessary for polish is well worth it in terms of subscription revenue.
uncaringbear May 14th 2008 5:46PM
@ Ross: Best comment, by far.
We shouldn't underestimate Vivendi's potential to 'motivate' Blizzard into meeting a Nov 08 launch schedule. Clearly, there is a significant advantage to a pre-Christmas launch. However, Blizzard has a proven precedent for proving that success is not intrinsically linked to the launch schedule, as demonstrated by TBC. Having said that, if I were a typical pragmatic CEO, I would at least be asking the developers to jusitfy their long development cycle. If there's money to be made sooner, that's what you go for.
Abhinav Kumar May 14th 2008 6:29PM
I pray this comes out before my winter break.
B.D. Martinez May 14th 2008 8:08PM
Well Game Stop is already taking reservation so on the game. I just reserved my copy of it already. They have listed a release time of Nov 08’. Not actual date listed just the month. So I think this is a glimmer of hope if you ask me. I would say if they go beta by Aug then for sure we will be looking at a 08’ release for sure.
Bloodelfer May 15th 2008 1:45AM
i think they are aiming for Nov. or Dec. coz of xmas time when they get lots of more buyers
christhepriest May 15th 2008 6:17AM
I work at Gamestop, at currently WotLK is set for November 3rd in our computers. doesnt really mean anything, lol, but its exciting just the same. oh and May's gamestop tv dvd- thing, has an interview with the lead lvl designer over at blizz who says to look for it later this year.
matt May 15th 2008 3:17PM
two things I find interesting about this. First how much Vivendi is going to try to force its will on Blizzard to meet Vivendi deadlines and not much when Blizzard says its done as in the past. We have heard a pile of corporate speak about how there aren't going to be any changes at Blizzard but in reality I doubt there aren't going to be "any" changes. Wrath will be the first real test of will they be allowed to miss chrismas again just because blizzard "feels" its not done. Some how doubt that.
Point 2 is that we know they are in alpha testing right now but we have not heard anything about a closed Beta. Last beta started in October of 2006 BC came out in Jan. 2007 so figure there will be at least three mouths from beta to release so there is still a 4 mouth window for us to still get WotLK in 2008 but if that beta starts after August I wouldn't count on it
B.D. Martinez May 15th 2008 4:45PM
As much as I would love for Lich King to come out asap. I would prefer them to wait on it till they feel it is ready to go live. I mean for you Star Wars fans how many do you remember KOTOR Sith Lords. The game was really rushed and a lot of content was missing as well and did not flow as it should. Not to mention really buggy as hell. I think that was a prime example of rushing a game title to make money and I really hope Blizz can quash that if they feel it is not ready. I would be curious to know where they are in alpha right now.