Blizzard Entertainment says that its subscription-based MMORPG "World of Warcraft" has surpassed 1.5 million paying customers in China. The game was only launched on June 7, 2005, by The9 (NCTY).

World of Warcraft has now achieved another significant milestone as the largest MMORPG in the world, with more than 3.5 million global customers.

"World of Warcraft's success in China has quickly exceeded our expectations, and seeing Chinese gamers respond so enthusiastically to the game has been extremely gratifying," said Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We thank the players for embracing World of Warcraft, our partner The9 for helping to make all of this possible, and the Chinese authorities for their support of Blizzard Entertainment."

The9 is leading the operation and management of World of Warcraft in China. The9's dedicated team in China has provided localization of game content, synchronization of content updates, and delivery of player feedback to the developers. The9's local team offers 24-hour customer service, with direct game master support and local call-center representatives dedicated to helping players with questions regarding gameplay and technical issues.