World of Warcraft loses 800,000 more subscribers, Blizzard looks to Pandaria

WoWThrall

I've got to hand it to Blizzard: While most MMOs would be circling the drain if their bubble burst to the tune of 800,000 subscribers, World of Warcraft barely notices. Yeah, the steep drop to 10.3 million - down from last year's all-time high of 12 million - is by no means good news, but from where Blizzard's sitting, it's just a hint to try something new rather than a one-way trip to the MMO graveyard.

The downward trend comes in the wake of another reported subscriber loss three months ago, which saw the total subscribers dwindle to 11.1 million. 2011, then, has been a steady downhill slope. So, what's changed? For one thing, Blizzard cites troubles in "the East," but also notes that WoW's still "one of the most popular online games in China, and remains by far the most popular subscription-based MMO in the world."

Speaking during a conference call (via VG247 ), Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime also took aim at Cataclysm's lack of truly engaging casual content and noted that Pandaria's pet battle system looks to patch up that particular leak. However, for those less inclined to cuddly pandas or pocket-friendly monsters, Morhaime promised enough murderous Horde vs Alliance fun for the whole family. First, though, a certain dragon who's also the apocalypse needs slaying, and the beginning of the end's only a week away.

"It's really not intended to go out and drive new user acquisition, that's a whole other strategy," Morhaime said of the upcoming update. "But it does drive engagement with the game, and so that will impact churn if we do it successfully, and will eventually drive winback, as players tell each other about the content they're enjoying."

So, are you still pumping precious monetary lifeblood into Blizzard's MMO behemoth? Or has your extended stay in Azeroth finally come to a close?

Latest in World of Warcraft
Several adventurers in World of Warcraft Classic's hardcore server crying over the death of a fallen comrade.
Blizzard plans to revive WoW Classic Hardcore characters 'at our sole discretion', after DDOS attack puts major streamer guild OnlyFangs in the ground
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery
World of Warcraft Classic’s Season of Discovery may be teasing a legendary weapon that players have speculated is in the game for two decades
Gallywix wears an uneasy smile as he's confronted by Xal'atath in WoW: The War Within.
After 12 days and 100s of wipes, World of Warcraft's latest world first raid ends in anticlimax: 'That's the boss?!?'
A goblin with sharp teeth, wearing goggles, lets out a mischievous cackle in WoW's latest patch: Undermine(d).
The hooligan hacker guild that tore up WoW's newest raid (twice) just posted video evidence of the whole thing, and it's got me feeling weirdly nostalgic
Concept art of WoW's upcoming player housing system, showing a warm homestead with a welcoming figure in shade.
WoW flexes its MMO player housing system in a new blog post, and it really might just beat FF14's dated furniture placement into the dirt
Gallywix wears an uneasy smile as he's confronted by Xal'atath in WoW: The War Within.
World of Warcraft guild uses exploits to get world 'first' on the game's new raid, gets banned, puts its name backwards and does it again
Latest in News
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
Otter AI Meeting Agent
As if your work meetings weren't already fun enough, now Otter has a new all-hearing AI agent that remembers everything anyone has said and can join in the discussion
Monster Hunter Wilds' stockpile master studying a manifest
As layoffs and studio closures continue to deathroll the western AAA industry, analyst points out 5 of 8 major Japanese companies hit all-time share prices this year