World of Warcraft’s incredible subscriber bleed, after almost approaching its peak high last year following the launch of the Warlords of Draenor expansion, continues. As of September 30, the subscriber count stands at just 5.5 million people worldwide, down another 100,000 subscriptions from the previous quarter, and the lowest amount the game has had in a decade, since the launch of its very first expansion pack, The Burning Crusade.
Of course, some perspective is needed before players jump on the doom and gloom train- this is a ten year old game, still seeing over 5 million people playing it regularly, and it is still far and away the single most successful MMORPG.
Blizzard is doubtless hoping that the upcoming expansion, Legion, will help World of Warcraft regain some of that lost subscriber base, however. Even if it does, what will be important will be that Blizzard can retain those subscribers, as opposed to the launch giving them just a temporary bump.