Diablo III sends record for fastest-selling PC game to hell

Diablo III sold more than 3.5 million copies within its first 24 hours of availability, shattering the all-time record for fastest-selling PC game.

Diablo III sold more than 3.5 million copies within its first 24 hours of availability, shattering the all-time record for fastest-selling PC game, according to a Blizzard press release.

Not included in those 3.5 million: the 1.4 million players who obtained the game by being a part of World of Warcraft's annual pass promotion. That's a total of 4.7 million players worldwide getting their hands on Diablo III on its first official day on the market.

"We’re definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live,” said Mike Morhaime, Blizzard's CEO and cofounder, in the news release.

It's not the first record book Diablo III scribbled itself into; a week before its launch, Amazon revealed the title was its most pre-ordered PC title ever.

Then, within its first week on the market, the number of Diablo III players grew to 6.3 million. (Blizzard did not mention if this was another broken record in its release.) So, of course, with so many players trying to jump into the loot fest simultaneously, not everyone's experience with the game went smoothly.

"We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so," said Morhaime. "I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo III players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support.”

Congratulations are definitely in order for the folks at Blizzard. Let's give them a round of applause, all you Barbarians, Demon Hunters, Monks, Witch Doctors and Wizards of the world, hmm?

Staff article by Jonathan Davila (May 23, 2012) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this news article, you can update your bio from the Settings page.