World of Warcraft bleeding players despite new content

August 8, 2011 By Mike Flacy

Are people finally getting tired of the Horde and the Alliance? After a long reign as the most popular MMORPG of all-time, Blizzard is watching the slow decline of the fantasy game.

Down about 600,000 players in about seven months during the last report, Blizzard reported another loss in the second quarter. Subtracting another 300,000 players from the player base, the subscriber base for the World of Warcraft massive multiplayer online game has dropped by nearly one million users in about nine months. This decline may have been slowed by the recent move to convert the game to a free-to-play model. Players can play for an unlimited amount of time for free until a character hits level 20. In order to continue leveling the character to the current cap of 85, the customer has to start paying the monthly fee for online access.

Despite the 7.5 percent drop in customer subscriptions and potential loss of approximately $160 million in yearly subscription revenue, Blizzard is continuing to support the game with recent expansion packs like Cataclysm and future content like the Mists Of Pandaria. They are also continuing to expand in China with more support for content packs as well as tackle new markets like Brazil due to the new Portuguese localization. Blizzard belives that fourth quarter sales will peak again with the next content update. Blizzard is also working on finishing up Diablo III for release as well as part two of StarCraft II and an unnamed MMO that goes by the project name ‘Titan’.

However, Blizzard faces fierce competition from Electronic Arts Star Wars: The Old Republic from the creative minds at Bioware and LucasArts. With beta tests starting in September, EA is pushing for a fourth quarter release to take advantage of the shopping season. The game garnered about 200,000 preorders in the first six days of going on sale last month. Taking place 300 years after the events in the series, the Jedi and the Sith enter into a new, deadly conflict which will be detailed in a collaboration between the software developers and Dark Horse Comics before the launch of the game.

Showing 16 comments

diver19743 at 8:24pm 27th August 2011 You are incorrect on the SWTOR timeline, it doesn't occur 300 years after the series, it is 3000 years before.Here is the excerpt from the SWTOR website: "Play Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ and be the hero of your own Star Wars™ saga in a story-driven massively-multiplayer online game from BioWare and LucasArts. Explore an age thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader when war between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire divides the galaxy."
Robert Burnham at 6:26am 9th August 2011 I left WoW years ago because it was just getting old. I left EQII a few months ago for the same reason. A lot of gamers I talk to feel the same way. We're all tired of the current crop of MMOs. Rift is good, but it too feels like more of the same at times. It seems like a lot of us are ready for the next wave, like EQIII, SW:TOR, Tera and whatever else is coming.
Braxton Edwards at 7:18am 9th August 2011 I miss the days of logging in at any given time and running to Tarren Mill to pvp for 12 hours. Instance pvp killed it for me.
Braxton Edwards at 7:18am 9th August 2011 I miss the days of logging in at any given time and running to Tarren Mill to pvp for 12 hours. Instance pvp killed it for me.
Jason Pettress at 6:57am 9th August 2011 That and rift just blows it away..
Ian Bell at 10:59pm 8th August 2011 This game is old. Even new content cannot save old graphics, gameplay mechanics and an older overarching story.
1. Mike Dunn at 8:11am 9th August 2011 It doesn't help that "old" feeling when they keep recycling old content into the new expansions.
Branden Hebert at 5:37am 9th August 2011 I would still love playing it, if it weren't for the over-simplified streamlining that takes nearly all creativity out of leveling your character. The new content is what killed it. Everything feels like it's made for little kids now, there's nearly no challenge to the game anymore.
Wickidspliff at 10:04pm 8th August 2011 Rift...much better
1. Dan Gaul at 7:34am 9th August 2011 Why, what makes it better? Just curious. Haven't heard much on Rift.
  1. Brandon Eaker at 8:57am 9th August 2011 1. they geared it towards gamers and not people new to games like WoW does. 2. they update the game every month so you constantly have new stuff. 3. It just looks good.
Dan Gaul at 9:59pm 8th August 2011 I'm amazed so many people are leaving. What game are they moving too?
1. Mike Dunn at 10:08pm 8th August 2011 Everyone i used to play with is now playing Rift.
  1. Dan Gaul at 7:34am 9th August 2011 Ahh, Rift looks interesting, but it reminds me of another old MMO which was all PVP. Can't remember the name, but I didn't play it long.I think Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to draw a lot of people! Can't wait to see that.
    Mike Dunn at 8:12am 9th August 2011 Yeah, looking forward to trying out Old Republic, never tried Rift though.
2. Brandon Eaker at 8:54am 9th August 2011 yup Rift for right now. It's like Vanilla WoW!!