Those guys at Blizzard are probably in need for someone specifically savvy at counting money, because when you have like 9 million monthly subscribers who pay $15 you get…what?

$135.000.000 million. That should be the amount of money Blizzard reaps every month from its fanatic subscribers, who, out of passion and love for the outstanding MMORPG, sometimes forget feeding their babies, drinking water, moving or even breathing.

Nevertheless, the number of WoW fans is increasing. According to Blizzard’s latest estimates, 9 million subscribers are already crowding the company’s servers worldwide, with probably a couple of millions more waiting in line in mainland China, where WoW’s expansion The Burning Crusade is expected to be launched in cooperation with Blizzard’s Chinese partner The9. A plethora of new and returning WoW addicts will probably flood Blizzard’s Chinese data centers, since the world’s most populous country is also WoW’s biggest source of revenues, with more than 3.5 million subscribers.

"We're thrilled that gamers around the world have continued to embrace World of Warcraft so enthusiastically," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We've worked hard to provide a compelling experience for our players, and we plan to continue updating the game with exciting new content for them to enjoy for many years to come."

World of Warcraft debuted in North America on November 23, 2004, and since then it has become the most popular MMORPG around the world, practically dwarfing any competitor. According to Blizzard’s internal estimates, industry sell-through data and reports from key distribution partners around the world, was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006 and has remained at or near the top of the weekly PC-game sales charts for much of 2007 as well.

The Burning Crusade, WoW’s expansion released to critical acclaim in several regions earlier this year and shattered PC-game sales records in North America and Europe, with nearly 2.4 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of release and approximately 3.5 million in its first month. World of Warcraft is available in seven different languages and, in addition to North America and Europe, is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.