It's been a while since Blizzard issued a press release mentioning subscriber numbers, but one just landed - in it, the company says that World of Warcraft now has 12 million subscribers worldwide. This, they say, have a lot to do with the fact that the game's second expansion - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - has just launched in China after having been delayed because of all the troubles the title went through there during the last two years or so. Then there's always World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the third expansion that is released this December, that already is bringing old players back to the Blizzard fold.
Want to know what they say equals a "subscriber"? As always, that information comes with a press release like this, so it might be of interest to have all the facts.
"World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules."