On its 20th anniversary, World of Warcraft is challenging its label as a dead game with data shared by Blizzard’s chief executive.
In light of Blizzard’s general manager’s statements and the data he showed, World of WarcraftLabeling ‘s a “dead game” seems like an unfair assessment. As the game prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, WoW remains the best-known and biggest of the massively multiplayer online games. Blizzard stated that the game has attracted over 100 million players, much of this success thanks to the game’s quality, scale, and combination of adventure and clever party mechanics.
World of Warcraft Is Not a Dead Game
John Hight’s speech titled “The First 30 Years of Warcraft: The Formation of a Gaming Universe” at the Developers Conference provided important information about historical trends in WoW’s subscription numbers. According to Hight, World of Warcraft subscription numbers follow a consistent pattern based on the release of expansion packs. With each new expansion there is an increase in subscriptions, and then the numbers gradually decline over the course of a few months. Although this decline is occasionally interrupted by major updates and additions released in the interim periods, the general trend is decreasing until the next expansion pack is released.
This information shows that World of Warcraft, which is described as a “dead game”, is actually in a constant cycle of renewal and interest. Player dissatisfaction and the emergence of other games dubbed “WoW killers” do not stand in the way of WoW’s long-term success. On the contrary, constantly updating the game and enriching it with new content keeps the player base alive and reinforces WoW’s leadership in the MMO world.