developer world of warcraft: the burning crusade
World of Warcraft ( WoW ) is a massively multiplayer online role - playing game ( MMORPG ) released in 2004 by ___MASK67___ . It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy " Warcraft " universe , which was first introduced by "" in 1994 . " World of Warcraft " takes place within the " Warcraft " world of Azeroth , approximately four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard ' s previous " Warcraft " release , "." ___MASK67___ announced " World of Warcraft " on September 2 , 2001 . The game was released on November 23 , 2004 , on the 10th anniversary of the " Warcraft " franchise . Charles de Brosses , comte de Tournay , baron de Montfalcon , seigneur de Vezins et de Prevessin ( 7 February 1709  7 May 1777 ), was a ___MASK52___ writer of the 18th century . Warcraft is a franchise of video games , novels , and other media created by ___MASK67___ . The series is made up of five core games : "", "", "", " World of Warcraft ", and "". The first three of these core games are in the real - time strategy genre , where opposing players command virtual armies in battle against each other or a computer - controlled enemy . The fourth and best - selling title of the franchise is a massively multiplayer online role - playing game ( MMORPG ), where players control their character and interact with each other in a virtual world . The most recent title is " Hearthstone ", a digital collectible card game . Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe , often but not always without any locations , events , or people from the real world . Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element , theme , or setting . Magic and magical ___MASK27___ are common in many of these imaginary worlds . Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes , respectively , though there is a great deal of overlap between the three , all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction . ___MASK67___ , Inc . is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine , California , and is currently a subsidiary of American company Activision Blizzard . The company was founded on February 8 , 1991 , under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of the University of California , Los Angeles : Michael Morhaime , Frank Pearce , and Allen Adham . The company originally concentrated primarily on the creation of game ports for other studios before beginning development of their own software in 1993 with the development of games like " Rock n ' Roll Racing " and " The Lost Vikings ". In 1994 the company became Chaos Studios , then ___MASK67___ , Inc . after being acquired by distributor Davidson & Associates . World of Warcraft : The Burning Crusade is the first expansion pack for the MMORPG World of Warcraft . It was released on January 15 , 2007 at midnight in Europe and North America , selling nearly 2 . 4 million copies on release day alone and making it the fastest - selling PC game in those regions . It was released on January 17 , 2007 in Australia and New Zealand ; in total , approximately 3 . 53 million copies were sold across these territories in the first month of release , including 1 . 9 million in North America , over 100 , 000 copies in Australasia , and nearly 1 . 6 million in Europe . It was also released in Singapore , Thailand , and Malaysia on January 15 , 2007 . It was later released in South Korea on February 1 , 2007 ; in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau on April 30 , 2007 . The game was released in China on September 6 , 2007 . Australasia , a region of Oceania , comprises Australia , New Zealand , the island of New Guinea , and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean . Charles de Brosses coined the term ( as ___MASK52___ " Australasie ") in " Histoire des navigations aux terres australes " ( 1756 ). He derived it from the Latin for " south of Asia " and differentiated the area from Polynesia ( to the east ) and the southeast Pacific ( Magellanica ). The bulk of Australasia sits on the Indo - Australian Plate , together with India .