Blizzard, and their publisher VU Games (French conglomerate Vivendi), must have been cracking open the champagne last night after it was revealed their MMORPG now has in excess of two-million paying subscribers - a ridiculously huge number, when you consider these gamers are paying hard currency into Blizzard's pocket on a monthly basis. Despite having been out a relatively short time, the two-million subscriber mark comfortably elevates WoW to the level of number two in the world, short of NCSoft's Lineage games alone.

Indeed, with the global number two spot secured thanks to Korean, North American and European subscriptions, it is expected that may soon be challenging for the number one spot after figures begin to trickle in from last week's Chinese launch, and the game makes it out in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Certainly, this is a major success for Blizzard, who must now maintain their position NCSoft-style to ensure their opus isn't a flash in the pan. One of the ways they hope to do this is by improving the service they provide, having admitted that the success of the game has taken them by surprise.

"We have plans and aspirations and goals to be much better than we already are..." commented Blizzard's Paul Sams in a recent interview. More soon.

By Luke Guttridge