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WoW Subscriber Base Hits 11.5 Million

By - Source: Tom's Hardware US | B 26 comments
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Blizzard announced today that 11.5 million players currently subscribe to the World of Warcraft MMORPG. Ouch.

That's quite a lot of people when you think about it, all sitting behind computer monitors and flat screens, all inhaling bodily fumes mixed with the smell of stale chips, fizzed-out soda and three-day-old underwear. Of course, that's a stereotypical view of the MMORPG player seen by those who don't understand the true feeling of conquering mobs and level grinding. But by enlisting the likes of Ozzy Osbourne or inspiring a hit webisode now picked up by Microsoft, Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft has become a monstrous boss of a game, taking down former champions Everquest, Lord of the Rings Online, Dark Age of Camelot, Lineage II, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and more in one fell swoop.

According to Blizzard, World of Warcraft surpassed 11.5 million subscribers after the release of the game's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Apparently, more than 2.8 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours of its availability, and have now sold over 4 million copies in the initial first month. “Not only is Wrath of the Lich King still doing well, the base World of Warcraft game and the World of Warcraft Battle Chest are performing better than last year,” said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop. “That type of traction is very impressive for a game that is going into its fifth holiday season and speaks to the enthusiastic player base Blizzard Entertainment products have.”

Of course, Blizzard was also quick to define where the subscription numbers actually came from, revealing that the figures include Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days. The subscription base also includes gamers who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. But whether the figures are embellished or not, the fact of the matter is that World of Warcraft is the #1 MMORPG to date, racking in mounds and mounds of cash for all employees enlisted at Blizzard--in a matter of speaking, Blizzard is the ultimate gold farmer.

To keep up with consumer demand, Blizzard is currently hiring for numerous positions. Interested individuals should head here and check out what the company offers; not only is Blizzard looking for talented people to "help keep pace with continued growth of World of Warcraft," loads of other jobs are listed as well. For Diablo 3, Blizzard seeks a Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Senior Game Designer, and a Senior 3D Environment Artist. For StarCraft II, a senior Game Designer and an Associate 3D Artist is needed. In all, over 50 jobs are available, spanning from Irvine, California to Austin, Texas.

Interestingly enough, Blizzard also offers positions for an "unannounced Next-Gen MMO," looking to fill 11 positions including Lead 3D Character Artist, Concept Artist, Software Engineer, Server engineer and more. Fans and critics alike have speculated on what the unannounced title could be, suggesting a resurrection of the StarCraft: Ghost project, a World of Warcraft successor, or perhaps a sequel for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

But until Blizzard finally reveals the mystery game, the company will undoubtedly see numbers rise in regards to World of Warcraft. “We’re pleased to welcome the new and returning players who have helped World of Warcraft reach these new milestones, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and support that the game’s global community has continued to show,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We look forward to providing all of them with an excellent entertainment experience for a long time to come.”

With its current momentum, will anything be able to topple World of Warcraft? Eventually. Just look at the original EverQuest and how players flocked to its virtual terrain, and worshiped every textured centimeter until something bigger and better came along. That too will happen with World of Warcraft one day, but as recent subscription numbers show, that won't be anytime soon--and it could very well be another Blizzard MMO.

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  • 0 Hide
    trevorvdw , December 24, 2008 3:07 PM
    World of Starcraft ;) 
  • 0 Hide
    dacman61 , December 24, 2008 3:55 PM
    More like Universe of Starcraft ;) 
  • 0 Hide
    cl_spdhax1 , December 24, 2008 4:06 PM
    planet blizzard, mc-blizzard, blizzard mutual, blizzard fest, blizt energy drink...
  • Display all 26 comments.
  • 1 Hide
    Pei-chen , December 24, 2008 4:13 PM
    $15 a month buys 720 hours of entrainment. $50 to EA/Crytek buys 5 hours.
  • 2 Hide
    kamkal , December 24, 2008 4:42 PM
    world of warcrack
  • 1 Hide
    eklipz330 , December 24, 2008 5:49 PM
    blizzard should know that there are only 5 millions players in wow, and some of them with like 20 accounts.... and you should as well as add the 3 million that play on cracked servers...
  • 0 Hide
    sacre , December 24, 2008 5:49 PM
    I stopped playing the damn game. Vanilla wow was fun, BC was ok, Lich king? Its completely geared to the casual player, its all too easy. and its all grinding, everyones the same, theres no uniquness anymore, its been homogenized..

    WoW will crash, obviously, everyone knows that. I'm hoping sooner then later.
  • 1 Hide
    brendano257 , December 24, 2008 7:20 PM
    Once you go Warcrack you can't go back. Seriously....live some please =[)
  • -1 Hide
    kutark , December 24, 2008 10:15 PM
    I have absolutely no trouble keeping from going back to warcraft. I'd rather place my genitals in a blender to be honest. This article cracked me up though, "..has become a monstrous boss of a game, taking down former champions Everquest, Lord of the Rings Online, Dark Age of Camelot, Lineage II, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and more in one fell swoop."

    Hrmm, lets see, Everquest was 5 years old when it was released and had already long since hit its peak. DAOC was hardly affected by WOW, as DAOC players were interested in PVP, and WOW's was and is lackluster. Vanguard:SOH's failure had absolutely jack to do with WOW, and LOTR:o  catered to a completely different style of player and never wanted nor intended to try to take down the "wow" monster. As for Lineage II, the vast majority of the subscriber base for that game was korean, so maybe in the asian market WOW hosed Lineage II? I don't now.

    I'm just getting so sick and tired of the constant nutswinging by the general media on WOW. The idea that because something is popular automatically means its quality and/or good is just fallacious and wrong.
  • 1 Hide
    kelfen , December 25, 2008 3:45 AM
    dude they make an MMO on universe of starcraft korea is going be nuts! thinking about how many of em play starcraft it is like a sport :o . Starcraft will always be a great! battle net wootz. blizzard adds something to the game where your 50 dallors can worth endless hours of enterntainment
  • 0 Hide
    bf2gameplaya , December 25, 2008 6:06 AM
    WoW will go the way of AOL, as neither of those concerns could change enough to stay fresh and compelling enough to attract new p(l)ayers while keeping the old ones.

    This is in accordance with prophecy.
  • 0 Hide
    Aoster87 , December 25, 2008 1:00 PM
    I'm not sure what the point of people posting about their seemingly motiveless hatred for WoW is.
  • 2 Hide
    zodiacfml , December 25, 2008 2:49 PM
    yeah, what's with hating it? playing another game?
    anyways, not surprising for me, i've played all blizzard games since diablo 1. they keep on making quality games, they deserve it.
    quality meaning everything on the game. can't think of any developer that come close. i still love how starcraft feels and play than any other realtime strategy game.
  • 3 Hide
    malveaux , December 25, 2008 8:10 PM
    Heya,

    Fine by me. The more money they make, the more potential MMO's will be made by others in competition. And that's where the really great games will come out. If they make no money, there's not much buzz for a markget.
  • -6 Hide
    giovanni86 , December 25, 2008 10:49 PM
    WOW, the best MMORPG ever.
  • 0 Hide
    kelfen , December 26, 2008 5:26 AM
    zodiacfmlyeah, what's with hating it? playing another game?anyways, not surprising for me, i've played all blizzard games since diablo 1. they keep on making quality games, they deserve it.quality meaning everything on the game. can't think of any developer that come close. i still love how starcraft feels and play than any other realtime strategy game.

    +1 They make games that you would enjoy playing 10 years latter a little bit such as starcraft.
  • 1 Hide
    enforcer22 , December 26, 2008 10:51 AM
    Only game blizzard made that i liked was starcraft. I do look forword to sc2 but wow is garbage.
  • -1 Hide
    stromm , December 26, 2008 3:53 PM
    I question their numbers. I say this because I know tons of people who tried WoW though the "trial" period and then never touched it again.

    I want to know how many of those 11.5 million are current ACTIVE subscribers. Don't just tell us how many subscribed over the past years. That's like Time magazine counting subscribers from 40 years ago.
  • 0 Hide
    Aothen , December 26, 2008 9:37 PM
    If you're bitching and complaining about WoW, yet you've never played, you sir/mam are an idot! If you freaking don't like WoW, then dont play.......Please!

    Blizzard is for sure doing the right things, concerning WoW...
  • -1 Hide
    klonedesu , December 28, 2008 12:44 AM
    kutarkDAOC was hardly affected by WOW, as DAOC players were interested in PVP, and WOW's was and is lackluster.

    Have you ever played WoW? They've kicked up the pvp a lot since it first came out (Back then it was pretty much non-existent). I've actually enjoyed the pvp in WoW a lot. But I do agree with the fact that WoW is a bit overrated. It's fun but it's definitely not as worship worthy as some people make it out to be :p 
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