fair enough. I didn't give the relevant comparative information.
https://venturebeat.com/2020/12/08/w...c-game-launch/
Blizz doesn't give us direct sub numbers so we can't exactly compare one for one but we can get a close estimate. in this article, blizz claims "Shadowlands, sold over 3.7 million copies on its launch day, November 23. That breaks the record for biggest launch day for any PC game, beating out the 3.5 million copies Blizzard’s own Diablo III managed back in 2012." this means that means wow hasn't been this successful since mid cataclysm (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_...aft:_Cataclysm). mid cataclysm had about 10 million players (source: http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/gl...915/915591.png) so that means wow at the very least reach 10 million people and lost 4 million in the first three months.
now we have to consider the much longer than average wait for 9.1, the lack of communication, and the bandaid fixes months after we find a rather fatally bad design decision, this supports the premise that people are leaving in droves. do i have proof that wow has lost anymore sub since the superdata article came out? no. the only people who know for sure is blizzard. but all the signs point the shadowlands being an even bigger disappointment than wod.
That's the premise, the data, the logical arguments, and why i believe i am right. i would expect a just as thorough rebuttal if you want to try and convince me otherwise.