ITALIAN-LANGUAGE VERSION OF WORLD OF WARCRAFT® NOW AVAILABLE IN EUROPE
PARIS, France – August 29, 2012 -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the fully localized Italian-language version of its critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft® and its expansion sets are now available for download in Europe. All current European World of Warcraft players can now play in Italian at no additional cost by downloading the language pack from within the game client. Localized retail versions of World of Warcraft and its expansions will begin arriving in stores throughout Italy beginning September 25, coinciding with the upcoming launch of the game’s fourth expansion set, Mists of Pandaria™
With today’s launch of the new Italian version of the game, Blizzard has opened new World of Warcraft realms dedicated to the Italian community, which are now available to all players with a European World of Warcraft license. Free character transfers to these realms from designated realms are also being offered for a limited time. Players are invited to visit the Italian-language version of the World of Warcraft community site (http://eu.battle.net/wow/it/) for the latest news and updates on the game. In addition, a Europe-based Italian-language customer service team is also available and ready to assist Italian-speaking players through in-game, phone, and web support.
“We hope our existing Italian-speaking World of Warcraft community will have an even more enjoyable experience playing in their native language, and we look forward to welcoming new Italian-speaking players to Azeroth as well,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “One of our long-standing goals has been to ensure World of Warcraft is as accessible as possible to players around the world, and we’re pleased to take another big step toward that goal in Europe with this new Italian-language version of the game.”
Launched in November 2004, World of Warcraft is the world’s most popular MMORPG. Players assume the roles of legendary heroes and interact with thousands of other players online as they explore the rich fantasy world of Azeroth, engaging in epic battles, forming friendships, forging alliances, and competing with enemies for power and glory. The game’s third expansion, Cataclysm®, sold more than 3.3 million copies within its first 24 hours of availability, making it the fastest-selling PC game ever at the time, and went on to sell more than 4.7 million copies in its first month.* World of Warcraft is played in North America, Latin America, Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, mainland China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Italian is the eleventh officially supported
language for World of Warcraft worldwide and the seventh supported language in Europe, complementing the existing English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese versions.
For more information on World of Warcraft, please visit http://eu.battle.net/wow
*Based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners; includes digital distribution.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, 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 sixteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
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