What is World of Warcraft?
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). In World of Warcraft, thousands of players will have the opportunity to adventure together in an enormous, persistent game world, forming friendships, slaying monsters, and engaging in epic quests that can span days or weeks.

What is an MMORPG?
MMORPG stands for massively multiplayer online role-playing game. In an MMORPG, thousands of players exist in the same game world at the same time. This creates an incredibly rich and active environment in which interesting things are constantly taking place. MMORPGs provide thousands of hours of game play, with a nearly infinite variety of goals to achieve across a vast world covering miles of land and sea. For World of Warcraft, we will also be adding new content on a regular basis, thus ensuring that there will always be new adventures, new locations, new creatures, and new items to discover.

How will World of Warcraft differ from other MMORPGs?
World of Warcraft will differ from other MMORPGs in many ways. Players will be able to complete quests and experience the world at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. Additionally, our quest system will provide an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft will also feature a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents. We also plan to incorporate several unique features, which we'll disclose throughout the course of development.

Will there be a monthly fee to play the game?
Yes. After the end of the free month included with the game, you will need a subscription in order to continue playing the game. You have three options, as you will see when you create your account: a month-to-month package at $14.99 per month, a three-month plan at $13.99 per month, or a six-month plan at $12.99 per month. Please be aware that the subscription fees for three-month plan and the six-month plan must be paid in full.

Why isn't World of Warcraft free?
World of Warcraft will require a fee to play. This fee will be used to support the costs associated with the high-quality levels of service, support, and ongoing content creation that we are planning for World of Warcraft.

Will there be multiple methods of payment besides just credit cards?
Yes, we plan to support a range of payment methods. In the initial launch regions of North America, Australia, and New Zealand, customers will be able to pay their subscription fees by major credit card, PayPal, and pre-paid game cards. Payment methods in other regions will be announced at a later date.

Note: We are still working with PayPal to allow customers to subscribe using PayPal accounts. Please keep an eye on the main World of Warcraft website for any news on this option once it becomes available.

How will the game be distributed or sold?
Gamers will be able to purchase World of Warcraft at retail outlets, online sites, or directly from Blizzard Entertainment. However, in order to play you will need to sign up for a monthly account.

Will World of Warcraft be playable on a Mac and are people currently testing it on Macs?
Yes, to both. The game will be available on a Mac and there are people currently playing on Macs.

Will I be able to use my World of Warcraft discs on my Mac and PC?
Yes, the discs will be compatible on both Mac and PC.

Can you alt-tab in and out of the game?
Yes, you can also run the game in a window.

What forms of currency will there be?
Currently there is gold, silver, and copper. And in case you were wondering, there are a lot of things you can buy with your money, including training, equipment, profession recipes, profession components, extra space at your bank, and more.

As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure. At long last, the world of Azeroth, first glimpsed in Warcraft I and further enhanced in subsequent strategy games, is realized in glorious detail and ready for the arrival of millions of prospective players. So step upon the hallowed shores of this embattled world, and see what journeys await for those who would plumb this ancient realm's many secrets.

World of Warcraft draws heavily upon the lore of the Warcraft universe. Long-time fans of the Warcraft games are finally able to step into the world from a player's perspective, and experience the universe firsthand. People, places, and units from the strategy games are finally brought to life in World of Warcraft.

You can visit such places as the Burning Steppes, where Grom Hellscream fell in battle against the demon lord Mannoroth, and Ironforge, where the dwarves make their home below the mountain. Legendary heroes, such as Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, and King Magni Bronzebeard, are also in the game, presiding over their respective peoples as leaders in their race's capitals.

Guards in the human city of Stormwind look just like footmen from Warcraft III, peasants in the human town of Hillsbrad look exactly like their counterparts in the strategy games, and orc peons shuffle about the farms of Go'Shek in the Arathi Highlands. Night elf players can even see gargantuan Ancient Protectors patrolling the elven lands of Teldrassil, while a towering Ancient of War waits to greet all visitors to Darnassus