Almost two years since Blizzard announced WoW had 11 million subscribers comes a new announcement saying World of Warcraft has now reached the 12 million subscriber plateau. They explain: "This milestone was reached in the wake of the mainland Chinese launch of World of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, and also as global anticipation continues to mount for the December 7 release of the game's third expansion, Cataclysm." They also answer the inevitable questions about the methodology for tabulating these numbers: "World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees’ territories are defined along the same rules."