Is this the end of the World …of Warcraft? Having his a subscription and gamer peak with a monstrous 12 million online players, Blizzard’s once hugely successful MMORPG looks to be on decline, with the number of paying subscribers declining for the last two consecutive quarters.
The game, which has stolen many a social life and ended many a relationship in its time, looks to be in danger from competition like the upcoming Diablo III and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Or is it? “It’s normal to see some declines,” says Blizzard. “The team is currently working on our largest content update since Cataclysm, which will hit later this year.”
The defensive statement went on to say that its recent drive to let players join for free up to a certain point has been a big success: “We have seen an increase in new account creations as a result of that. It’s still too early to tell on conversions to subscribership, but I believe that is an important direction for us.”
But does the future look bleak? Can World of Warcraft maintain its supremacy in the MMORPG arena? Let us know your thoughts on the Gadget Helpline Twitter feed.