Blizzard Announces 12 Million WoW Players Worldwide

The stigma may persevere, but World of Warcraft's population keeps on growing.

Your non-gamer friends may give you a hard time about the fact that you play World of Warcraft, but they could very well be in the closet about their own gaming addiction. Blizzard has announced today that as we approach the six-year mark of up-time for the MMORPG juggernaut World of Warcraft, the concurrent population continues to grow higher and higher.

With WoW's second expansion Wrath of the Lich King finally hitting mainland China audiences and the third expansion Cataclysm just around the corner, more and more people are flocking to Azeroth, and bringing their friends and family with them for dragon-slaying glory.

"Today we announced that World of Warcraft has passed another major milestone and now hosts more than 12 million current subscribers around the globe," Blizzard poster Vaneras writes. "Check out the press release for the full announcement, and thank you to all of our players for making this possible -- we're grateful for all of the support and enthusiasm you've shown over the years, and look forward to continuing to provide you with great entertainment experiences for a long time to come."

For a point of reference, there are only six states that currently boast a larger estimated population: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. That's a whole lot of people to be calling nerds. Stand proud, Azerothians; you're not alone!

Source: Press Release.