WoW subs at 9.3 million

By Robert Purchese Published 15 November, 2007

Mr. Olympia keeps on flexing.

Vivendi financial results have shown that World of Warcraft has an active subscriber base of 9.3 million people.

That means in six months it has added nearly 300,000 users, showing the ageing MMORPG and expansion The Burning Crusade are still retaining and attracting fans. It also recently launched on China, its hot strategy for breaking the elusive 10 million mark.

All of this makes for some very hefty figures. For the first nine months of fiscal 2007 (the third quarter has just finished) Vivendi has made a whopping EUR 716 million - 50 per cent higher than this time last year. Impressive; I bet it has a MacDonald's in its house like Richy Rich.

World of Warcraft is due to expand again next year with Wrath of the Lich King, unless all the other MMORPGs team up and bash it to pieces in a back alley that smells like piss.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (26) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Trane #1 4 years ago

    I'm amazed it still has this many 'active' subs, everyone I know personally who has ever played it (I played for over 2 years fairly hardcore myself) has fallen out of love with the game and stopped playing a while back.

  • quantumsheep #2 4 years ago

    I've just started playing it, mainly for the machinima possibilities, but I grudgingly admit, after having avoided it for so long, that I'm enjoying it.


    Shoot me now.

  • viper_h #3 4 years ago

    I played for 2 years pretty hardcore as well, and gave up 6 months ago, but the recent patch changes sound good and might be luring me back in...

    Must.. resist... urge.

  • RamblinSydRumpo #4 4 years ago

    9.3 million seems to be very popular. That's also the number of Wiis Nintendo claim to have shipped. Perhaps the next announcement could make up a different figure?

  • hp_on_toast #5 4 years ago

    "Perhaps the next announcement could make up a different figure?"

    And one that doesn't feature "million" in it at all.

  • jiveguy #6 4 years ago

    I'm surprised especially with all the great non-subscription based gaming you can have at the moment. I usually fall back on a mmo when there's nothing else to play.

  • Markusdragon #7 4 years ago

    9.3 Million people is twice the population of Norway, IIRC.

  • Xerx3s #8 4 years ago

    They are banking 120 900 000 € (13 € a month?) EVERY MONTH on subscription fees alone. That makes blizzard more powerful than a lot of publishers in this world. And still they refuse to spend money on the good games of old.

    Blizzard must be laughing their arses off all the way to the bank when they plan to buy a small country and fund a new world order.

  • mkreku #9 4 years ago

    I played a paladin for the first three months following launch. Trust me, they'll NEVER manage to lure me back into that borefest.

  • zoidberg #10 4 years ago

    I stopped playing a year ago but am still paying subscription.

    Dumb, I know...

  • reality_cheque #11 4 years ago

    So the advert mentioning 600,000,000 subscribers is a lie then?

    I did think than 10% of the human population seemed a bit much.

  • skillian #12 4 years ago

    This is THE success story of gaming.

    Truly amazing, incredible.

  • Drpwnage #13 4 years ago

    I also played for 2 years at a reasonably hardcore level, but no longer :>

  • Iora #14 4 years ago

    I played for a year.
    Quit after I recieved a quest asking me to collect 20 heads and found that only 1 in 5 of those creatures had heads.

    Im back in now because my fiancee is hooked it is fun playing alongside her, otheriwse I'd have cerimoniously burned the CD's long ago!

  • Mr_Brown #15 4 years ago

    If I had enough money and time, I would go back. Sadily, real life and uiversity beckons...

  • Azazel #16 4 years ago

    So do they actually have more money than God now or what? Is it official?

    Sorry: OFFICIAL.

  • Crea #17 4 years ago

    I'm with Zoidberg, a lapsed player curiously still paying subscription. I think it's on the off chance I fancy firing it up one quiet Sunday afternoon, but I never do.

    It's insane, it's like the Blizzard Tax.

  • Katsumoto #18 4 years ago

    I don't think university is a reason to stop playing! I spent my second year playing this pretty much exclusively! Huzzah. Those were the days.

  • legendmir #19 4 years ago

    yeah surely un i is THE time to play!

  • Spindle #20 4 years ago

    Xerx3s - They're not banking anywhere near that amount of money. A large part of those 'active subscribers' are in the asian market with a number of different payment models, hardly any of which are a monthly fee. Lots are by the minute I believe. A large proportion of the subscribers are Chinese, and Blizz actually makes very little money per subscriber compared to the US and Europe. I'm not saying they're not making a fortune from it, just not the huge figure you came up with.

  • Laserbream #21 4 years ago

    Lapsed 2 year player here as well.

    The faster levelling in the new patch is tempting - I left a load of alts in the dull zones between 20 and 60.

  • CouldntResist #22 4 years ago

    Really impressed by how well it's done, although i don't play.

    Definitely a good thing, as it brings gaming that much closer to the mainstream.

  • hula hoops #23 4 years ago

    Blizzard must be laughing their arses off all the way to the bank when they plan to buy a small country and fund a new world order.

    Nah, all transaction is usually done by cards .. no need for Blizzard to walk to the bank (while laughing).

    9.3 million idiots
    the official world figure

    wow, and I suppose you are Mr. Genius?

  • Katsumoto #24 4 years ago

    It's true, anyone who plays WoW is automatically a nerd, has never kissed a girl and is also mentally challenged. Meanwhile, i'm off to play Tomb Raider for 10 hours in a row, i'm desperate to get 100% achievements!!!11

  • jonnyreb #25 4 years ago

    Seriously, there needs to be a study done to see why WoW is so damn addictive....I was a massively hardcore player for 2 years and stopped playing when we had a baby.

    But I also still pay my subscription every month - and very occasionally get a chance to help our 11 year old with a quest here or there and still enjoy it immensely.

    I can't put my finger on what it is that I enjoy so much - certainly not the social side of it as I always solo'd unless raiding.

  • the-fell #26 4 years ago

    2.3 has tempted me back on the drip of gaming addiction.

    Just ... can't ... shake it >.<

    Still, it's an AWESOME way to save money, my bank balance is much healthier after spending over 2 years of solid WoW gaming.