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Blizzard Entertainment(R) Announces Launch Date for Russian-Language Version of World
of Warcraft(R)
PARIS, Jul 30, 2008
(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the
Russian-language version of
World of Warcraft(R), its award-winning, subscription-based
massively multiplayer online role-playing game, will be available on the
6th of August, 2008. On that date, European players will be able to
purchase a version of the game and its expansion, The
Burning Crusade(R), fully localised for Russia, and
begin playing on dedicated realms with the benefit of a Russian-language
customer-support team. This will be the fifth European-language version of
World of Warcraft, complementing the existing
English, French, German, and Spanish versions.
"The launch of the
Russian-language version reflects our continuing commitment to make World
of Warcraft even more
accessible for gamers throughout the world," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment(R). "We also hope that providing a fully
localised version of the game will further enhance the gameplay experience
for our enthusiastic
Russian community."
The Russian version of World of Warcraft will be available for Windows(R) XP/Vista and Mac(R) OS X 10.3.9 or higher. The retail DVD
boxed version will include a one-month subscription to the game, while the
retail CD boxed version will be available
at a lower price and will include a 14-day subscription.
Russian players will have
the option to subscribe to a dedicated Russian account, which has a
reduced subscription-rate structure for the Russian market priced in
rubles, and which allows players to access and create characters on
Russian realms only. The available subscription options are a
month-to-month plan for 359 rubles per month, a three-month plan for 329
rubles per month, and a six-month plan for 299 rubles per month.
Current European World of
Warcraft players will be able to download a Russian-language pack from the
official Russian website at www.warcraft.ru, which will let them access
and create characters on the new Russian realms. Beginning on the launch
date, free character transfers to specific Russian realms will also be
available for a limited period of time. Additionally,
existing European accounts have the option of being converted to Russian accounts.
For more information on
World of Warcraft, visit the game's official website at
www.wow-europe.com. To keep pace with the multilingual European growth of
World of Warcraft and development of other games, Blizzard Entertainment
is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on
available career opportunities at Blizzard Europe, including positions on
the
Russian-language World of Warcraft team, can be found at http://eu.blizzard.com/en/jobs.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft(R), StarCraft(R), and Diablo(R) series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
(www.blizzard.com) (NASDAQ: ATVID) 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.
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Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that
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Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this
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