Earnings Call - WoW Classic: Biggest Quarterly Increase in Subs in History

[Aphrel]

whats an MAU?

[Kathranis]

whats an MAU?

Monthly active user.

[twothe]

So now we have the proof that Classic was more popular than BfA. And it continues to be so, despite all those people calling it dead.

That puts a few things into perspective:

1) BfA is obviously a failure as an expansion, if a 15 year old version of the game creates more subs.
2) This is a massive hint that the current features of WoW aren't well received by many players anymore.
3) Community matters. This is one of the main reasons people who play classic give when asked why they don't play retail. And this is the one thing Blizzard also neglects the most.

So if I was a game director at Blizzard I would come to the conclusion that the main course of action has to be to improve the feeling of community and how people interact with each other in the game with the next expansion. The actual game director however decides that a solo dungeon is the new main feature. Go figure where the problem is...

[Kauko]

And then people cry about them... they know what they are doing and they do it very very well.

[MoanaLisa]

So now we have the proof that Classic was more popular than BfA. And it continues to be so, despite all those people calling it dead.

I'm happy that the Warcraft IP is doing well and Classic deserves all the credit for bringing people back to the game. On the report there's a little footnote (#2 in the slide that I saw) that mentions subscriptions are both monthly and long-term. It would be interesting to know how many of those subscriptions that account for the increase are still active now. I think that might be a bit more meaningful. I'll grant you the truth of the first sentence in the quote. I'm less certain about the second.

[Mendzia]

no it doesn't..

Yes. If you say so it must be true.
You are more realible source of Blizzard inside informations than Blizzard itself.

Servers are already starting to become barren wastelands.

What? You probably do not even play it so again you are the most realible source of informations here.
I play on semi-sized server that is no longer layered and my game literally freezes sometimes due amout of ppl in Orgri.
Most of the servers are still layered and phase 2 is in less than week...

If it had kept growing, Why was there said like 2 lines about it on blizzcon and nothing more ?

What would you like to hear?
Store mounts or Pet Battles in Classic?
Of course there will be no info - everything is known.
They can just say the dates of next phases or TBC/Classic+.

[scelero]

Will Blizzard learn from this and realize making quality games is a superior way to make money than cash shops and greed?

No.

you do understand putting out Classic was and is a money grab right? we know what their stance was on it from the start. Then they saw they could make money off the people who left by bringing back something they already paid for.

I can't wait to buy and play classic in 20 years all over again.

- - - Updated - - -

Go watch some pro wrestling, and understand how 'heels' work, and you'll see you're a 'mark'

The fact I bought the game, is proof it was a success. The fact I may or may not like it, only reflects my thoughts on the product and not the validity of whether the game is good or not. The fact I bought the game, is proof it was a success.

It's like food. If you buy something not knowing how it's going to taste, it doesn't mean the dish wasn't good. It just means you don't like it, and didn't know what you was getting in the first place. But doesn't mean the chef didn't cook it properly, it doesn't mean the waiter took it to your table incorrectly or that you was billed incorrectly because of it. Serve the same dish to someone who likes it, and now it's the best they've ever had.

I refuse to let my experience control the experience of others. I refuse to let reports I didn't write tell me how to think. And none of you should either.

[KaPe]

All those news don't change one major fact - we have no idea about Classic population right now and probably never will. The launch was a success, but beyond that, we know nothing. Ecstatic cries of "Classic saved WoW, screw you Retailers" should take note of WoD and its' population surge at the beginning, which vanished after a single quarter. Early hype doesn't mean long term staying power.

Also, the fact that layers are being turned off and servers aren't instantly dying is a rather clear proof that population numbers have decreased since launch. Which is pretty much what every skeptic predicted - the one difference being the scale, which we have no way of knowing.

[Vorkreist]

I for one miss the good ol days when the biggest investor call highlight for wow consisted of "Strong cash shop participation"

[Aeula]

I really hope Classic’s success doesn’t change modern WoW too much. I can’t stand Classic or it’s gameplay loop.

[Exhuman]

ATVI was down 3.21% today on the earnings call....ouch

Of course is going down, a smart people know that classic is now going down the hill from now on.

Classic already peaked, the hype the nostalgia. Now will slowly die...

- - - Updated - - -

I can tell you with confidence, that right now, retail will be completely flatlined. Literally ZERO reason to log in. Q4 numbers will be abysmal

They released Shadowlands preorders now for a reason, to backup Q4 compared to Q3. if the preorders are going slow, watch them rush release a new store mount.

Its all about business and numbers

[Sensa1]

All those news don't change one major fact - we have no idea about Classic population right now and properly never will. The launch was a success, but beyond that, we know nothing. Ecstatic cries of "Classic saved WoW, screw you Retailers" should take note of WoD and its' population surge at the beginning, which vanished after a single quarter. Early hype doesn't mean long term staying power.

Also, the fact that layers are being turned off and servers aren't instantly dying is a rather clear proof that population numbers have decreased since launch. Which is pretty much what every skeptic predicted - the one difference being the scale, which we have no way of knowing.

"every skeptic"....laughing my ass off...everyone, including Classic fanboys and anyone with one iota of common sense, knew that the Classic population would drop over time.

Classic is content gated (phases) and can be completed. Both of these things, in of themselves, will lead to cycles of population decline. Add in dabblers that tried it and didn't like it (which is perfectly fine) and the population will automatically decline.

That being said, Classic will maintain a solid, core but smaller player base for an extended period of time as people who prefer it level alts on both factions on multiple servers (that's my plan personally and at the rate I'm going it will keep me busy for a long time).

Classic is an unadulterated booming success. It brought people back to the franchise in record numbers.It created huge amounts of buzz for the Franchise. All of which ultimately benefits Retail. That's the one and only metric by which to judge the "success" of Classic. It did what it was supposed to do and likely greatly surpassed Blizzard's expectations and more than paid for itself multiple times over.

The Classic population could drop to zero tomorrow and Classic would still be considered a wild success because it did what Blizzard hoped it would do, at a profit, and actually exceeded expectations...everything from here on is pure gravy.

[Pepsoni]

They allready said in the earnings call the has not been a drop off, meaning the amount of people are the same (of who subbed)

[Halfaheart]

I've been playing on a wrath server off and on since cataclysm released on retail and It always has close to 20k online. I can say without a doubt that the more archived servers they release the higher the sub count will be. I tried out classic and it wasn't for me. But I know I'd jump to a wrath server and never look back if Blizzard released one

[dayne87]

I didn't read all 9 pages (stopped at like page 4 or 5), but here are my thoughts.

1. I'm glad that players were brought BACK to WoW (whether Classic or Retail). I could envision players who stopped playing Retail years ago (like during Cata or WoD or Legion) coming back to check out Classic.
2. Of that subset that come BACK to check out Classic, the question will be how many stay playing Classic only, how many move on to Retail only and how many play a combination of both and how many quit. 4 different options, none of them "wrong." It's 1 sub, so either way, regardless of which version of the game they play, Blizzard is winning.

I think the critical piece of information will be next quarter, when we see if there was a significant drop in subs. Not that they'll specifically call that out on an earnings call, necessarily. I don't want WoW to "die," but I'm realistic in that it's natural subs will decline after the initial hype period (and as shown by the # of servers no longer layered).

Also, as for WoW on Twitch - If Asmongold or Esfan or one of those big streamers is not streaming, the WoW Twitch channel is only a few thousand viewers. As soon as Asmongold pops on, it jumps to 40k+. Those viewers are there for HIM, not for WoW Classic. He could play Retail or another game entirely and people would still watch him play because he's an entertainer and they're there for his personality. If they weren't there just for him, the WoW Twitch channel/section would have 30+ viewers all the time (with or without Asmongold).

People can love Classic and dislike Retail or love Retail and dislike Classic or love BOTH or dislike BOTH. There are lots of shades of grey here and I wish (I know, I know, this is MMO-C) that people could just accept that different people have different tastes in games and stop vilifying others.

[roboscorcher]

I've been playing on a wrath server off and on since cataclysm released on retail and It always has close to 20k online. I can say without a doubt that the more archived servers they release the higher the sub count will be. I tried out classic and it wasn't for me. But I know I'd jump to a wrath server and never look back if Blizzard released one

Yeah I'd love to have server for every expansion. Sometimes I just want to play an older version of a class.

[Nestoras]

I don't need a toy, a pet, an xp boost waiting for me in my mail for world of warcraft 15th year anniversary.

I had my present early on this year, and its Classic. The biggest present ever in my years in world of Warcraft!

And for the first time in many years, a "thank you Blizzard" is in order for this wonderful gift!

Keep it clean and it will be the place to be for the years to come!

[Relapses]

I really hope Classic’s success doesn’t change modern WoW too much. I can’t stand Classic or it’s gameplay loop.

It already has. The level squish and bringing back meaningful skills and talents with each level in Shadowlands both seem to echo Classic. That said, I don't see them removing QoL features like the LFR and the LFG anytime soon so if that's your concern I can say with a fair amount of certainty you have absolutely nothing to worry about on that front.

[Ulfric Trumpcloak]

"cLaSsIc wOw HaS nOt BeEn SuCcEsSfUlL" - Random haters on mmo champion a couple of weeks ago...

I wish that mod hadn't closed the thread so i could rub it in their faces. Bunch of idiots!

[Aeula]

It already has. The level squish and bringing back meaningful skills and talents with each level in Shadowlands both seem to echo Classic. That said, I don't see them removing QoL features like the LFR and the LFG anytime soon so if that's your concern I can say with a fair amount of certainty you have absolutely nothing to worry about on that front.

I’m more concerned with how far they’ll take ‘class fantasy’ and the types of content they’ll produce going forward. I don’t really use LFR/LFD.