Cataclysm sells 4.7 million copies in one month
by Matthew Rossi 
Jan 10th 2011 at 4:00PM
Blizzard Entertainment Press Releases"We created thousands of new quests, introduced new lands to explore, and extensively revamped the game world for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, making it our biggest and most ambitious expansion yet," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We've been floored by the community's response so far, and we'd like to thank them for their continued passion and support for World of Warcraft, and for helping Cataclysm reach this incredible milestone."
This pretty much cements Cataclysm's position as a huge seller for Blizzard and brings this expansion up above Wrath of the Lich King, the previous best seller. It's unlikely that anyone is exactly surprised by this news, but it bodes well for the game and its current success.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.Filed under: Blizzard, Cataclysm, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
(cutaia) Jan 10th 2011 4:03PM
That Deathwing picture needs a speech bubble that says, "I MADE YOUR WORLD BROKE!"
coreycubed Jan 10th 2011 4:05PM
No. Just... no. Please, no more Deathwing speech bubble.
Task Jan 10th 2011 4:09PM
And if possible, him smiling and showing his custom made Goblin manufactured grillz.
Powatodapeople Jan 10th 2011 4:18PM
I think that one is clever enough to pass.
come to think of it, 4.7 million X $40 is $188 million. that's a lot of money in one month...
Crimson Jan 11th 2011 2:36AM
That Deathwing picture needs a cutaia's face and a speech bubble that says, "I BROKE YOUR COMMENT SYSTEM!"
coreycubed Jan 10th 2011 4:04PM
Deathwing.
Deathwing everywhere.
Dril Jan 10th 2011 4:04PM
It does support the idea that about 7 million of the 12 million subscribers are in China, though.
You could make the case for that figure being more like 6 million, but even with the super-casual (not using that in a derogatory way either) I highly doubt 1.3 million Western folk didn't buy the expansion.
No, I'm not hating on WoW or the figures, I'm just saying there's a slightly darker message in the figures.
coreycubed Jan 10th 2011 4:08PM
You're saying that the majority of active subscribers play in a country where the game isn't even available?
Dril Jan 10th 2011 4:21PM
World of Warcraft != Cataclysm. BECAUSE Cata isn't available there yet, Eastern sales figures aren't in the equation.
Poor effort.
Artificial Jan 10th 2011 4:24PM
"...I highly doubt 1.3 million Western folk didn't buy the expansion."
I highly doubt it's that few, yes. There are still a great many people who will buy it, just haven't bought it yet.
alpha5099 Jan 10th 2011 4:34PM
Although certainly China makes up a significant portion of the subscriber-base, it could just be that there are an awful lot of players for whom upgrading to Cataclysm is not yet a priority. Two real-life friends play quite regularly, and have never gotten a character to 80 or 85; it's just not the end-all-be-all of the game for them. They're quite content to just casually level through the content, starting new alts regularly. I would imagine that players like them constitute a reasonably good percentage of the player-base, and for someone like that, upgrading to Cataclysm really only offers the ability to play Worgen and Goblin toons.
Cephas Jan 10th 2011 4:45PM
@coreycubed
Your information seems considerably out of date. NetEase got WoW China back up and running September 19, 2009. Since then they've even released Wrath in China, and are currently running patch 3.2.2.
Saisen Jan 11th 2011 11:59AM
@Cephas
he is talking about cataclysm not the game in general, after all this article is about cataclysm sales, not the whole game.
Zalvi24 Jan 10th 2011 4:05PM
so thats why my dungeon queues are so long as a healer QQ, need more tanks to buy xpac ASAP
Hivetyrant Jan 10th 2011 4:06PM
BLIZZARD'S WALLET WAS NOT PREPARED!!
Moobs Jan 10th 2011 4:06PM
So Cataclysm sold 3.3 million on the day and 1.4 million during the last month, How many copies were sold on presale, for download, colletor's edtion and regular edition?
Orbs Jan 10th 2011 4:09PM
As it was sang by a great artist - Serj Tankian
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Crazyates Jan 10th 2011 4:38PM
As much as I love Serj Tankian:
A) He is not a GREAT artist
B) That was the most unnecessary comment ever.
rufwork Jan 10th 2011 4:36PM
And they donated a portion of moonkin pet sales to charity! Yay Blizzard!
Hollow Leviathan Jan 10th 2011 8:19PM
HOW DARE THEY.