Raise your hand if you had Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft” lasting more than 9 years; I know I never thought it would last this long (that’s what she said). Reaching subscriber highs of more than 12 million paid players in 2010, the world of Azeroth has now dipped back down to the 8 million mark, which has raised concerns in the Blizzard Activision Inc. offices. Activision’s brass commented on those concerns today, commenting also on “challenges in the global economy. For these reasons, we remain cautious. However, our focused and disciplined approach to our business has served us well in the past, and through continued investment and careful management of our costs, we expect to continue delivering shareholder value over the long term as we have for the last 20 years.” Activision also added that the majority of the defections came from the East, rather than the West, signaling that Azeroth is still going strong in American households. Hit the link below for more thoughts on the WoW business model, and the way ahead.
World of Warcraft Loses 1.3 Million Subscribers
Is losing 1.3 million paid subscribers a big deal? Without a doubt, yes, however in the grand scheme of things, WoW is still incredibly strong for year 9 in its lifespan. Even with 8 million paid subscribers, the World of Warcraft still stands alone at the top of the MMORPG ranking, and still projects to retain that top spot for at least another 2 years. One just needs to look at how many impersonators have attempted to dethrone WoW from the top spot, only to attain the 1-2M subscriber mark, and then ultimately fail; Star Wars: The Old Republic arguably had the best shot at knocking Azeroth from the top slot, as it had the patented-Bioware storyline and development behind it, but look how that one turned out (not good).
At some point Azeroth will get shut down, however, don’t give up on WoW just yet. 8 million gamers haven’t, and with more great content planned, another 9 years suddenly doesn’t seem so absurd.
More business gaming news to follow!