World of Warcraft Will Stay on AT&T Servers

Some customer renewals are more important than others. Hosting deals don't get much bigger than AT&T's contract to host the infrastructure for World of Warcraft, the world's largest massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) with more than 11.5 million players worldwide. AT&T said Tuesday that game publisher Blizzard Entertainment has agreed to a two-year renewal to host World of Warcraft in North America.

AT&T has been working closely with Blizzard Entertainment for nine years, providing hosting for World of Warcraft and the Battle.net online-gaming service. "We've been pleased with AT&T's service over the years, and we're confident in their ability to continue to provide the quality support we need," said Paul Sams, Chief Operating Officer of Blizzard Entertainment. "This renewed agreement allows us to stay completely focused on our games while AT&T applies its hosting expertise to help us offer the speed, reliability and security our players expect."

AT&T's Gaming Core Team hosts Warcraft's infrastructure in multiple data centers, providing network monitoring and management. The AT&T Gaming Core Team was formed in 2004 to host gaming operations using AT&T's IP network. The team consists of engineers and hosting specialists who provide round-the-clock support to companies offering MMO games.

 AT&T’s data center network spans more than 2.6 million square feet of space in 10 countries. The company recently announced it will expand its data center hosting capacity in Atlanta, Annapolis, Md. and the New York/New Jersey metro area in the U.S., as well as in Hong Kong, Tokyo and the United Kingdom globally.