Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the subscribership for World of Warcraft, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), now exceeds 11 million players worldwide.

This milestone was reached as the beta test for Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft's second expansion, nears completion. Wrath of the Lich King will launch in several regions around the world starting on November 13.

"It's been very rewarding to see gamers around the world continue to show such strong support for World of Warcraft," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We remain fully committed to responding to that enthusiasm with a high-quality, constantly evolving game experience."

Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006 worldwide, and finished behind only World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, the first expansion pack for the game, in 2007.

In addition to being the bestselling PC game of 2007 in both North America and Europe, The Burning Crusade also holds the record for fastest-selling PC game of all time.