Blizzard have announced that World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has smashed the day one sales record and become the fastest selling PC game ever. A total of more than 2.4 million copies of the World of Warcraft expansion pack were shifted on day one of it's worldwide availability. Even For a game with over eight million active subscribers, that's still a lot.

Blizzard had supplied more than 4 million game boxes to retailers worldwide, and more than 5,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players.

Day-one sales totals on both continents were similar, with an estimated total of nearly 1.2 million copies sold on the first day in North America and an estimated total of more than 1.1 million copies sold in Europe within the first 24 hours of launch.* By the end of the first day of availability on both continents, a total of more than 1.7 million players had already logged in and upgraded World of Warcraft to play The Burning Crusade.

"The Burning Crusade has already exceeded even our most ambitious expectations," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We’re pleased that so many players are eager to see all of the new content that the expansion has to offer, and we look forward to seeing everyone online as additional players continue to upgrade in the days ahead."

Retailers are continuing to report sustained demand, so if players have not yet purchased their copy of The Burning Crusade, they are advised to call ahead to make sure their store has copies on hand. Additional shipments of the expansion have been routed to retailers to help maintain stock levels.

"The excitement and sense of anticipation generated by the huge crowd at The Burning Crusade launch event far exceeded our expectations," said Tim Ellis, Head of Games for HMV, UK. "And in terms of units shifted, this was HMV’s biggest launch event ever, and that includes Audio and DVD events."