Two bits of notable pieces of news this week, most of which have been reported elsewhere. The first is that World of Warcraft has surpassed 2 million subscribers. I guess the honor system didn’t slow them down. (link via Gamasutra). Can we now stop talking about the ‘million sub MMO’ game as if it wasn’t a great white whale?

On the flip side, Corpnews was the first to report the rumor that the Matrix Online has been sold to Sony. A surprising amount of commentary seems to be stuck on the notion that Sony and Warner Bros are arch enemies, and Sony getting their hands on WB money is blasphemy of the highest kind. News flash: that sort of stuff happens all the time if there’s a buck to be made. All the same, my condolences and best of luck to the guys in the trenches.

The Matrix Online boards are, oddly, more concerned about the events team than any of the devs, which speaks volumes about the high quality of their events. They probably have good reason to be concerned. Events staff are almost always the first in the crosshairs when the beancounters get involved.

If that comes to pass, it’ll be a shame. I was impressed by the level of dedication and focus MxO was placing on their events, and I was hoping they’d last long enough for us all to learn something. I wonder what the Wachowskis think of the whole experience.

Edit: A press release has confirmed all of the above, and has effectively announced that the rights to the DC Comics license was the primary motivator behind the whole thing.