World of Warcraft Losses 1.1 Million Subscribers in Three Months

The most recent earnings report from publisher Activision Blizzard has revealed that the subscriber number for the World of Warcraft MMO has dropped from 10.2 million in March to just 9.1 million on June 30.

During 2011, the Blizzard-made MMO has managed to reach 13 million subscribers, a high watermark that now seems to be completely out of reach.

Activision Blizzard has not offered any explanation for the drop, which is significant for the game and could spell long-term trouble.

Presumably, players are moving away in order to try out other titles in the same genre, including those who are offered under a free-to-play model, or are taking a break from World of Warcraft while Blizzard is working on new content.

Mike Morhaime, who is the president of Blizzard, told investors that most of those who abandoned the MMO are from Eastern territories and that they are taking a break from the game in order to enjoy another Blizzard title, Diablo III.

During the fall, the development team working on the game is set to launch a new expansion called Mists of Pandaria, which will add a new continent for gamers to explore, a new neutral race and a new class to play around with.

Blizzard also says that there are new raids and instances designed for high-level players and that it is also tweaking the skills and abilities of all the races and classes.

Activision Blizzard hopes to see Mists of Pandaria reverse the drop in subscribers.

Recently, rumors have suggested that Blizzard is ready to make World of Warcraft free-to-play during 2013, after the effects of the new expansion are clear and after the new Titan MMO is officially announced.

World of Warcraft is the last big subscription-based MMO on the market, after BioWare and Electronic Arts have announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic is also making the jump to free-to-play.

Via: World of Warcraft Losses 1.1 Million Subscribers in Three Months