Diablo III Opening Story

By Shawn Knight

On May 23, 2012, 3:30 PM EST


Despite a number of server-related issues surrounding the launch of Diablo III and the general displeasure of the “always-online” model, the title has become the fastest-selling PC game ever. Blizzard sold 3.5 million copies of the game within the first 24 hours of its release.

Additionally, Blizzard handed out 1.2 million copies to people that signed up for the World of Warcraft Annual Pass. Gamers were guaranteed a free copy of the game on launch day when signing up for a 12-month WoW subscription.

Diablo III’s early success wasn’t a huge surprise as the developer revealed earlier this month that it had become the most pre-ordered Blizzard game in history. Blizzard hosted a closed beta for several months and even made a small section of the game available for anyone to try roughly a month before the official launch to load test the servers. It seems that these preparations weren't enough as launch day problems have been well documented