Blizzard is considering introducing an in-game economy to World of Warcraft as more players churn out of the subscription-based MMO. That’s according to research firm SuperData, which cited an unnamed Blizzard staffer as saying in-game microtransactions are coming.

SuperData pointed to mounting losses as setting up a scenario where Blizzard has to be considering alternative sources of revenue. The firm estimates revenue in WoW dropped 54 percent over a seven month period leading up to April of this year. It said the game drew $93 million in revenue in April compared to $204 million in September of last year.

Subscriber losses in WoW have been a constant in the news. Blizzard parent Activision revealed during its earnings report in May that the game had lost 1.3 million subscribers in Q1 2013, representing about 14 percent of the player base. Another update on active subscribers in the game in July revealed the loss of an additional 700,000 people, putting total subscribers at 7.7 million.

Even if Blizzard is truly looking at a full-fledged in-game economy for WoW, SuperData said that it’s unlikely the game will switch to a completely free-to-play model because it still makes a staggering amount of money on subscriptions. There are also issues such as competition in the space and the effect on the existing player community.

“What we generally see after a switch to free-to-play is an influx of new players and a spike in revenues, which, if the cards are played right, can be sustained,” SuperData wrote in its report. “But to switch entirely to F2P is currently too much of a jolt for WoW, and doesn’t make sense with the current metrics. For example, in order to have sustained the US revenues the game saw in 2011, it would have had to convert 53 percent of the total free-to-play audience in the US at the time.”

Looking at a possible upside, SuperData pointed to how current WoW players are spending an increasing amount of money on the game’s add-on store. Revenue from the add-on store has stayed consistent even as a shrinking player base drives down subscription based revenue.

“Despite major declines in total revenues between September 2012 and April 2013, the game has seen an increasing conversion rate for its current, add-on, extra-game store, and its microtransaction revenues have held pat overall,” the SuperData report said. “What it tells us is that dedicated WoW players are interested in — and will spend money on —microtransactions. By bringing this system into the game, and allowing for powerups and performance-based microtransactions, WoW hopes to further entice players to spend.”

Source: SuperData