Activision Blizzard announced that pre-sales for the upcoming "Shadowlands" expansion for "World of Warcraft" are higher than for any expansion in the game's history.Robert "Bobby" Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard said during a recent earnings call, "Since doubling our subscriber base since the launch of Classic last year, we have witnessed unprecedented engagement trends. Pre-sales for the upcoming Shadowlands expansion are at an all-time high at this stage prior to its release.

Thus, Shadowlands pre-sales are more than any other expansion in World of Warcraft's 16-year history.

Kotick further emphasized that World of Warcraft is one of the few entertainment franchises, along with Call of Duty and Candy Crush, to have annual net sales "over $1 billion." Other executives on the conference call pointed to significant signs that World of Warcraft's player community is very healthy.

"Franchise engagement is at its highest level at this point in the last decade of expansion ahead," said Activision Blizzard COO Daniel Alegre. While not entirely clear, this seems to mean that more people are playing Shadowlands before its release than before any expansion since Cataclysm. In other words, the existing player base is more engaged than it was with Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion, and Battle for Azeroth. Alegre also noted that World of Warcraft's monthly active users have been steadily increasing since the launch of Classic last year.

We caught up with Shadowlands, which launches on November 23, World of Warcraft's 16th anniversary, and Shadowlands is a lot like the resolution of a 16-year meme: it's a game that's been around for a long time, but it's also a game that's been around for a long time. If you want to get started with the game, here's our guide on how to get started in time.