World of Warcraft is a very popular MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), and I’m sure you must have played it or seen it played, or at least heard about it. Whether you are a die-hard fan of this game or just playing it to pass the time, the facts I will list here about WOW will surely fascinate you. Here we go!
20 Interesting World of Warcraft Facts
The WOW game has been on the market for a long time. Children who started it in 2004 are now adults, but the fact is they are still playing. This addictive game has achieved great popularity worldwide, but there are still some facts about this game that will surely amuse you.
1. The Servers of WOW Are Really Huge
When it comes to MMORPGs, servers play a very important role. If we’re talking about World of Warcraft, it definitely needs some huge servers to accommodate the mass of global players. This fact may shock you, but the full hardware requirements of WOW include:
- 13250 server blades
- 112.5 TB (Terabytes) memory
- 1.2 Petabytes storage
- 75000 cores
Credit: perezhilton
The above figures were from 2009 and they must certainly have increased in the meantime.
2. To Support “World of Azeroth” World, WOW Servers Are Linked To Many AT&T Centers
Credit: funnyjunk
If you’ve played WOW, I’m sure you’re familiar with World of Azeroth, but if you don’t, rest assured that it’s a very expansive world. “Azeroth” is the world where most of the Warcraft series is set. To support such a vast world, WOW’s servers are connected to many AT&T centers around the world. Wherever these data centers are located, they are the actual locations in Azeroth. These locations include Frankfurt, Dallas, Stockholm, Paris, San Diego, etc.
3. There Are Over 100 Million WOW Accounts
Since the introduction of WOW, over 100 million individual accounts have been set up. This is twice as many as the population of South Korea and corresponds to the combined population of Sweden, Germany, and Belarus.
4. WOW Is Played In More Than 244 Countries & Territories
Credit: Kierabrowna2media.blogspot
Yeah, it’s pretty hard to believe, but it’s true. World of Warcraft is played in over 244 countries and territories around the world. This includes places like Christmas Island, the Bahamas, and Tokelau.
5. The Content Inside World of Warcraft Is Something Beyond What You Think
World of Warcraft is not just about plundering gold and beating enemies. In fact, it has a classic storyline, detailed worlds to explore, and great orchestral music that will surprise you. I will briefly explain the scope of the content below:
- World of Warcraft is one of the biggest video games in the world.
- The WOW Wiki has about 100k pages of content.
- It takes about 44-audio CDs just to hold its sound effects and music.
- With every expansion, WOW’s storyline also grows.
- There are about 6 million words in the game, which is equivalent to twelve copies of Lord of the Rings.
6. World of Warcraft Has About 619 Unique Pets & 504 Unique Mounts
If you want to explore the world of Azeroth, you’ll need a companion who will stand faithfully by your side. WOW is the only video game that offers hundreds of pets and mounts to choose from.
7. Popularity Of World of Warcraft Online Is Unbelievable
In one year more than 50 million people google this game. It has 5.2 million likes on Facebook and 408K Twitter followers. But that’s not all. Every year, players post about 26 million videos on YouTube about the game, and 87 million people watch the official channel.
8. The WOW: Wrath Of Lich King Sold More Than 1933 Copies Each Minute During Its Launch
This is certainly a very impressive fact. When World of Warcraft: Wrath of Lich King was introduced, it sold more than 1933 copies every minute. Yes, every minute, people! Can you believe that? That brought total sales to 2.8 million copies by the end of the first day. After that day, it set the record for the fastest selling video game of all time.
9. It Even Has Some Celebrities As Its Players
The attraction of WOW is so great that some unexpected people play it. This includes celebrities. Curt Shilling, Vin Diesel, Mila Kunis, Yao Ming, and Felicia Day are known as real geeks in their spare time, as they all play WOW.
10. Even Some Politicians Play World of Warcraft
In 2012, Colleen Lachowicz was a senator for the state of Maine. Her political opposition thought it would be a great trick to discredit her image as a practical candidate. She plays WOW. Her opponents set up a website just to run a campaign against her. They clearly said on the website: “Maine needs a good state senator who lives in the real world, not in video game fantasies.” The best thing about this is that instead of spoiling her political image, this link to World of Warcraft ended up propelling her to victory in the election.
11. Players Even Die Because Of WOW
You may have read stories in which players die when they play games over a very long period of time. You will be shocked to read this, but World of Warcraft is one such game that is often on the list. The main cause is called “deep vein thrombosis”. This is a problem when people sit for long periods of time. It is associated with air travel, travel, and now video games. My personal advice is to get up and walk often. Never sit for long periods of time.
12. There Are Even Clones Of World of Warcraft
WOW has become so popular that there are now even clones worldwide. These clones usually come from China and carry titles like Runes of Magic, World of Fight, Allods Online, etc. They have similar interfaces and game elements that are reminiscent of WOW. You can’t blame them because the original game is so good.
13. The Staffs & Code Lines Of World of Warcraft
From the statistics we’ve collected, it’s clear that Blizzard Entertainment has about 150 programmers or developers working on the game. It took 4 long years to write 5.5 million lines of code for WOW.
14. The Subscribers Of WOW
When the 4th expansion World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria was introduced, the subscriber base reached more than 11 million. This was indeed an outstanding and first-time achievement for Blizzard Entertainment ( the creators of WOW). The number of its previous subscribers was approximately 9.1 million. However, the latest news is that the number of subscribers has dropped to between 7 and 8 million.
15. You Want To Know How Much World of Warcraft Makes?
Blizzard Entertainment makes a lot of money with their game. According to the latest statistics and reports, WOW has net revenues of $1.324 billion (March 31, 2013), and this figure is higher than Blizzard ever predicted. It is 12.96% higher than last year’s revenue ($1.172 billion).
16. One Out Of Five Subscribers To World of Warcraft Is Female
Credit: elitedaily
You see, even girls play video games. According to statistics, 1 in 5 subscribers to WOW is a woman. In total, 16% of WOW players are female (about 1,600,000), and that must have increased by now.
17. “Humans” Is The Most Popular WOW Race
Aside from all of these races, the most popular of World of Warcraft’s races is the Humans. You’ll be surprised to read that WOW players complete 16.5 million quests and participate in 3.5 million auctions per day.
18. More Than 13-Million Players Pay Monthly Subscription Of $15.49 For WOW
Yes, many players pay monthly subscriptions to this game at $15.49. This means that Blizzard Entertainment makes about $150 million a month, which translates into $1.7 billion a year. This is only an approximation, and this number will continue to grow as the expansions are launched. It’s no wonder they’re able to afford such huge servers and expansions. The money from their subscribers helps them grow.
19. A Man Queued For 36-Hours Just To Be The First One To Buy WOW’s Expansion But He Collapsed Out Of Excitement
Credit:sexyackles.livejournal
More than 2500 players lined up outside one of the game stores on Oxford Street for the WOW: Warth of Lich King expansion. A man stood in line for 36 hours just to be the first to buy it. When he reached the counter, he was so excited that he collapsed.
20. An Average American Warcraft Player Spends Over 23-Hours A Week
On average, American Warcraft players spend more than 23 hours a week playing this game. The main reason for this? Without a doubt: addiction!
Read Next: 10 Most Expensive Video Games Ever Made