World of Warcraft Subscriptions Falling at Record Speed

World of Warcraft has been exceptionally popular over the years and instantly recognisable, even to people without any MMO experience. However, reports from the latest quarter indicates a sharp decline in the game’s popularity and now only has 5.6 million subscribers, the lowest figure such 2006. This comes after a recent surge surrounding the release of Warlords of Draenor which increased the player base to 10 million. More specifically, the latest results signify a 44% drop within a 6 month period. Since 2011, World of Warcraft has struggled to retain its fairly large community and that was to be expected.

Players have either become bored with the experience or moved onto other alternatives. There’s so much choice nowadays when it comes to MMOs including The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, TERA, Wildstar, Final Fantasy XIV and lots more! Realistically, Blizzard expected this and their current subscription base still accounts for a significant revenue stream. Obviously, a 44% decline in 6 months is rather drastic, but with future content updates, this could easily be reversed.

Another reason why Blizzard isn’t panicking, is the success of other products like Hearthstone and Starcraft II. Perhaps, they see World of Warcraft as a niche outlet but with people prepared to spend much more than the average consumer. As time progresses, it’s a cogent strategy to alter their business model to reflect the times. Will it ever become free-to-play? Only time will tell.

Thank you Forbes for providing us with this information.