Activision’s latest earnings call has revealed that Blizzard’s mammoth MMO, World of Warcraft, has lost just over 3 million subscribers since last quarter, when their latest expansion, Warlords of Draenor was launched. Nevertheless, Activision “expected” this “consistent” decline, and still remain happy that the game is still the “No. 1 subscription-based MMO in the world.”
The release of Warlords of Draenor had high hopes for the health of the population, which skyrocketed up to over 10 million subscribers. But as it seems with every expansion, the population began to shrink as players fatigue themselves on the expansions content. “As expected and consistent with our experience following prior expansions, we saw a decline in the World of Warcraft subscriber number.” said the statement. “Subscribers ended the quarter at 7.1 million.
“World of Warcraft’s revenue performance at constant FX has been more stable, driven by continued strong uptake on value added services, and price increases in select regions, which partially offset subscriber declines, particularly in the East. World of Warcraft remains the No. 1 subscription-based MMORPG in the world.”
It’s no surprise that 7.1 million subscribers is still nothing to scoff at; World of Warcraft is in no threat of becoming unsuccessful anytime soon. The number is in fact just shy of the game’s population pre-expansion. Maybe Blizzard’s increased output of more regular and quicker expansions may help bolster the numbers once again.