In 2015, when Activision Blizzard last reported on World of Warcraft's subscriptions, the game had 5.5 million global subscribers. It is projected that the numbers will gradually decrease to hit 4.46 million in 2023. The game reached the peak of its popularity in the second half of 2010, when Activision Blizzard’s estimates put the global number of WoW subscribers at 12 million. Before that, the number had been climbing steadily from 1.5 million in the first quarter of 2005, before exceeding five million in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 10 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. In 2011, the figures started falling and, by the first quarter of 2014, they decreased to the 2006 level. The predicted fall in numbers may be attributed to the fact that the game is now over 15 years old and that new online game modes, such as battle royale, have grown in popularity in recent years. The
player count of Fortnite , for example, reached 350 million users worldwide in 2020.
What is World of Warcraft?
World of Warcraft is the fourth in the series of games published by Blizzard Entertainment, after “Orcs & Humans,” “Tides of Darkness,” and “The Frozen Throne.” It was released in late November 2004 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the whole franchise. As of August 2018, seven expansions to the game had been released, with
sales of WoW expansion packs remaining fairly consistent. The fifth expansion pack - “Warlords of Draenor” – appeared on the market in fall 2014 and, wthin the first day of its release, it sold 3.3 million copies worldwide, as did the sixth expansion - Legion. The main appeal of the series is the possibility for players to transform into many different creatures, so-called races. However, the
distribution of WoW races shows that most players choose the familiarity of being human.