Diablo III sales pass 3.5M copies in 1st day
Activision Blizzard Inc. said Wednesday that it sold more than 3.5 million copies of its "Diablo III" video game in the first 24 hours of its release and 6.3 million copies in its first week on sale.
"Diablo III" had long been anticipated by fans. The last entry in its series was released 12 years ago, a lifetime in the gaming world when compared with franchises like "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty," which regularly receive updates.
"Diablo II," released in the summer of 2000, sold 4 million copies in the year after it debuted.
The newest game went on sale on May 15 at stores in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. Players there and in Latin America could also buy the game online. Sales totals don't include the more than 1.2 million players who received the role-playing game as part of a "World of Warcraft" promotion.
"Diablo III" plays on Windows and Apple computers and sells for $59.99.
Shares of Activision Blizzard, based in Santa Monica, Calif., rose 13 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $12.13 in afternoon trading.
