BlizzCon 2010: Cataclysm will be available for digital download on launch day

by Zach Yonzon Oct 22nd 2010 at 2:24PM

Straight from the Mike Morhaime's mouth during opening ceremonies -- Cataclysm will be available for digital download at midnight Pacific Standard Time of December 7, 2010. For the first time in the game's history, the game will be available for purchase online at the same time as it launches in retail stores. Pre-orders for Cataclysm digital downloads will be available on the Blizzard site soon. Players eager to play the game right away but don't have the endurance (or geographical proximity) to attend a midnight launch can simply sit in the comfort of their homes and enter a broken Azeroth as the game goes live on launch day. CLARIFICATION: Morhaime mentioned that the game should be available for digital download ahead of the launch date, allowing players to have the full game when Cataclysm goes live.

Tags: breaking, breaking-news, BreakingNews, cataclysm-game, cataclysm-guide, cataclysm-news, digital-download, expansion, expansion-three, next-xpac, third-expansion, world-of-warcraft-cataclysm, wow-4.0, wow-4.0.2, wow-cataclysm, wow-expansion, wow-guide, wow-third-expansion

Filed under: News items, BlizzCon

Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)

Drakkenfyre Oct 22nd 2010 2:59PM

Don't count on it.

Steam is owned by Valve. A competing company. No Blizzard games have ever been released on Steam.

Why would they release a game on Steam, where Valve will get a cut, when they can just release it via their own site?

Ice Oct 22nd 2010 3:50PM

"Steam is owned by Valve. A competing company. "

Theres ton of activision games on steam like MW2, heck I think its multiplayer is based solely on steam. Theres capcom, indie games heck even Aion etc.. so I wouldnt see it as impossible. Its just one way to distribute games, and theres like 16 million steam users IIRC

Michelle Madison Oct 22nd 2010 2:44PM

Was watching live, I believe it will be able to be downloaded *prior* to midnight, that's just when the servers will go up. We will probably be able to download it a week or more in advance.

"Cataclysm will go live at Midnight on December 7th, PST Time. Digital pre-orders will be able to download everything before it goes live to make sure they can play instantly on release day. "

Karazax Oct 22nd 2010 2:57PM

With most digital games that I have purchased off steam as a preorder, you can have the game downloaded and completely installed and updated long before the game goes live. You just get a message that the game is not unlocked yet if you try to launch it. I suspect Cataclysm will be the same, but since it is not a steam game there are no guarantees until Bliz gives more official info.

Josin Oct 22nd 2010 3:05PM

I would think that if you install it, you won't be able to log in to the live servers until they switch over, unless you have a second full install of the game.

Matchu Oct 22nd 2010 2:47PM

Be interesting to see how they handle it for EU customers.

raziel0reaver Oct 22nd 2010 2:47PM

This is good news for me seing as i live in Australia. Will be able to play it 9 hours befor it even comes out here.

xenite46383 Oct 22nd 2010 2:55PM

Wow, this I believe signals the upcoming final death blow to big box retailers and pc gaming. For a long time retailers have fought against digital distribution at launch as it cuts into their sales. Now the largest game franchise is moving to same day digital release and purchase.

More profit for Blizzard, they sell it for the same price minus the packaging and retailer cut.

Randolyn Oct 22nd 2010 3:24PM

I'll admit, the last few PC games I've purchased, I bought off Steam. No need to keep discs around, when I get a new computer I can just redownload my library from the cloud.

sejastwd Oct 22nd 2010 3:04PM

"and enter a broken Azeroth as the game goes live on launch day."

Here's hoping that refers to the landscape and not the servers

Josin Oct 22nd 2010 3:06PM

I entered a broken Azeroth on October 12th, too.

Kar Oct 22nd 2010 3:10PM

"Cataclysm will be available for digital download at midnight Pacific Standard Time of December 7, 2010... at the same time as it launches in retail stores."

So are store midnight releases happening at midnight PST and not midnight local time? That is, a store in Chicago wouldn't be selling the game until 2 AM?

dchiguy Oct 23rd 2010 12:25AM

My understanding is that you will be able to purchase @ midnight YOUR time, but the game goes live @ midnight THEIR time. i.e. those in Central will purchase @ midnight then sit around a twiddle thumbs until 2 a.m. when servers go live (I live in MI so I gotta wait till 3 a.m. local time, blech)

Guy Oct 22nd 2010 3:15PM

I am disappointed that it will go live at Midnight PST. 36% of the US Population is in a state bordering the Atlantic Ocean. We should get some love.

That said, just to clarify, we can download the game ahead of time and just activate at Midnight Pacific correct? I don't want to find out at 3am that I have to start downloading when I could've gotten discs and alread installed it.

Guy Oct 22nd 2010 3:21PM

That is my main question. If I can download it ahead of time, I will go to be nice and early, and wake up at 3am to play. If I have to wait until Midnight Pacific to start the DL, then I might as well go to Game Stop, since with the physical discs I can have it installed before 3am.

Guy Oct 22nd 2010 3:23PM

This was supposed to be a response to an earlier post...damn it.

Artificial Oct 22nd 2010 3:49PM

Don't get up *too* early. If the game goes live at 3am, that means you'll be able to *successfully* login to the servers around 6-8am or so, and actually play the game on servers that aren't crashing right and left sometimes that afternoon. :p

Seriously, just sleep in and enjoy the morning gaming, you'll be better rested and happier, and will be completing the starting zone at around the same time as people who started eight hours earlier when hundreds of people were spending hours completing quests where you have to kill 8 mobs while hundreds of people are hanging around the spawning zone...

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