World of Warcraft Revenue Drops 54 Percent in Seven Months

Amid concerns of falling monthly subscribers, a new report has indicated that World of Warcraft’s revenue in April was $93 million, a drop of 54 percent from $204 million that was recorded seven months earlier.

The report by Super Data Research also stated that, “World of Warcraft is thinking of microtransactions, and that’s a good thing.”

Those micro-transactions go beyond pets and the usual items though. “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. 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% of the total free-to-play audience in the US at the time. However, there are now more F2P gamers in the country—and worldwide—so it’s becoming easier to capture this audience. But there’s also more competition.”

While gamers haven’t been averse to micro-transactions, would Blizzard alter the game significantly in order to recoup profits? We’ll find out in the coming months.