For a while there, some concerns had arisen regarding World of Warcraft‘s user base, as Activision Blizzard were wondering about some drop-offs in terms of monthly subscribers. However, those fears seemed to have quelled, as recent reports indicate they’re back on the rise, mainly due to the excitement of a forthcoming expansion, according to GamesIndustry International.
600,00 payers have since come back to Warcraft‘s services in anticipation of the Warlords of Draenor expansion, which is due for release on November 13th. That brings the user base back up to 7.4 million, a number which will continue to increase in the weeks ahead, per information from the company.
As part of a gift to keep people from dropping off the service, Activision Blizzard will offer previously released expansions, including Mists of Pandaria, free of charge. This will no doubt help the service stay on the up-and-up, rather than suffering a drop-off, as it did back in June with a loss of 800,000 subscribers.
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter also believes that the subscriber base will continue to increase. The rise of 600,000 users came earlier than expected, according to him, and the number could get as high as 7.7 million by the end of the year. That could make World of Warcraft more popular than it’s ever been – which will no doubt be good news for the publisher.
All that’s left to wonder is what Activision Blizzard has planned for 2015. It takes its time between expansions – there’s a two year gap between Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor – but events like the forthcoming BlizzCon, along with in-game promotions, have a way of keeping an audience around. Plus, there’s always room for another expansion should demand call for it, which would be good news for fans and the publisher alike.
If you want to see Warlords of Draenor in action, check out the nice cinematic trailer below.
