Blizzard revealed the news that "World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth," the latest expansion for the popular MMO title, has grossed 3.4 million sales on its launch day, becoming the fastest selling expansion in the company's history. Here is everything you need to know about "World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth."

"Battle of Azeroth" marks the seventh expansion for "WoW," a multi-billion MMO video game. Among the IPs owned by Blizzard, "WoW" is by far the biggest earner, thanks to a continuous effort to expand on its world and gameplay features spanning 14 years.

The seventh in 14 years

The seventh expansion adds four new races, new regions in the form of two new continents, uncharted islands, a new 20-player PvE mode called Warfront, and dungeons to the video game. The expansion also raises the level cap from 110 to 120. "Battle of Azeroth" was launched on August 14 in two editions; the standard edition priced at $49.99 and the digital deluxe edition priced at $69.99.

Yet another epic conflict

The plot is set after the events of "World of Warcraft's" last expansion called "Legion," and involves the two factions, The Horde and the Alliance, battling over control of a new commodity called Azerite. This has spewed forth from the war wounds of the region Azeroth.

The story will see each faction trying to turn the tides of war by setting off to the new regions, Kul Tiras and Zandalar, and form alliances with other factions they come across in the video game.

Other records to come

Besides the first-day sales number, Blizzard Entertainment CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime also claimed in a statement that the expansion is currently shattering other records, including player count data, since its launch.

“Battle for Azeroth is a definitive chapter in the Horde and Alliance conflict at the heart of Warcraft," said Morhaime in his statement. "And it’s been thrilling to see players representing their factions in record numbers and embarking on their war campaigns — not to mention joining in ourselves.” Blizzard also offered discounts during Black Friday sales.

Critical reception

"World of Warcraft: Battle of Azeroth" has continued the trend of earning universal acclaim for one of the best expansions in the franchise. Currently, the expansion holds a score of 84 on Metacritic; tallied from 13 critics so far. PC Gamer's Steven Messner gave it an 86/100, praising the new content while having concerns with the loot system. He wrote, "Even if its new loot system is a bust, 'Battle for Azeroth' is a vibrant expansion full of wondrous new locales to explore, characters to meet, and stories to tell." Destructoid's Chris Carter gave the expansion a score of 8/10, citing that the "WoW" storyline became more intriguing after its launch. He added that while it isn't his favorite expansion, "but it's definitely up there."
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED