World of Warcraft was first released in 2004. Blizzard launched its massively multiplayer online role-playing game in North America on November 23, 2004, marking the tenth anniversary of the Warcraft franchise.
The game was developed for Windows and macOS and expanded the real-time-strategy series into a persistent online world. Players could explore Azeroth, choose characters from the Alliance or Horde, complete quests, fight monsters, join groups, and develop professions and equipment.
A common mix-up is 2005, because the European release took place on February 11, 2005, and other regional launches followed later. However, the game's original worldwide launch date—and the year generally used for its release—is 2004. The first expansion, The Burning Crusade, did not arrive until January 2007. World of Warcraft went on to become one of the most influential MMORPGs ever made, eventually reaching a peak of about 12 million subscribers in 2010.