World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2004. World of Warcraft is set in the Warcraft fantasy universe and takes place in the world of Azeroth approximately four years after the events of its predecessor, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Similar to other MMORPGs, players can create a character avatar and explore an open game world in third-person or first-person view, explore the landscape, fight various monsters, complete quests, and interact with non-player characters (NPCs ) or interact with other players. The game encourages players to work together to complete quests, enter dungeons, and engage in player-versus-player (PvP) combat, but can also be played solo without interacting with others. The game primarily focuses on character development, in which players earn experience points to level up their character and make it more powerful, and buy and sell items with in-game currency to get better equipment, among other game systems.