World Of Warcraft active players leaked

Mikeha

This is from Reddit. I will just quote the Reddit post. 
 
https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/9oka9p/wow_active_players_leaked/

"1.7 million players currently paying for a sub...

So Blizzard launched a new API https://develop.battle.net/ recently and it was leaking player subscription end dates. You could iterate over all players and calculate active subs. At the start of BfA we had 3.2m subs, now at 1.7m of which ~25% are secondary BFA purchases

If you doubled those for safety that's 3.4 million active players on WOW... Which sort of surprises me but also doesn't.

What's crazy to think about is if those numbers are true, then it's quite close to losing the title of most popular MMO, actually if 1.7 million active subs is true, it currently has less active players than ESO at around 2 million. But of course that's not counting free players below 20 or those who buy their sub with gold? Actually it might count.

Still, very interesting.

If you want more info it's all over World Of War craft forums, Youtube and Google news."

Mensur

Woot- I did not see this coming. Thanks for sharing! 

Albatroes

Blue/MvPs saying the numbers are false yet dont disprove it any way/shape/form. Its like when your parents used to say you were wrong but never told you why except you're just wrong.

SBFord

That has been largely debunked by the guy who originally posted it. 

Clarification about what happened today (WeakAuras Tweet)

So, what happened today:

Someone posted a thread on ((forum that is against TOS)) about how the new API can be abused to get player subscription data and that was used to calculate current subscriber numbers.

What I usually do with those rumors is post them on the WeakAuras Twitter account to talk with other people about it. I knew it was a far fetch and could not be verified unless the full data dump was leaked, which it wasn't. Also the thread has since been deleted and I did not have a screenshot nor was it accessible via Google Cache since it was in the subscriber only area.

What sounded too cool to me was that if those numbers are true, WeakAuras users make up 50% of WoW's user base. Which would be insane. So I began typing my tweet, wanting to talk about it and then it happened. I reached Twitter's max character limit. Well, the lazy person I am, I just figured I'd split my tweet up into three.

Turns out, people really don't read Twitter threads and Reddit only displays the first post of it by default.

This is how it looked to me, https://i.imgur.com/Y2SUrDc.png - but not to the rest of the internet.

Obviously the community took this as a call to arms and soon after, everyone was treating the first tweet as a fact. I tried repeatedly to point out how it wasn't but yeah, you guys know what happened.

Soon after, I got contacted by Blizzard and they basically just told me that the data is false and that I might want to edit or delete my tweet to not look like an idiot that spreads misinformation.

Since I think deleting tweets just because they are controversial is bad practice, and I stand by what I wrote, I once again tried to point out what I have been saying from the beginning, that we have no proof to back up this claim.

So of course, people took my tweet saying just that as me being gag ordered by Blizzard and started claiming I only posted this to boost my follower count and WeakAuras download numbers, threatening to boycott the WeakAuras addon as a consequence. Trust me, this was really not the case and half of that does not even make sense.

Lessons learned:

• Put a huge disclaimer at the start of tweets when you are going to post rumors, not at the end.

• The internet is still the internet and will never change.

• BfA is still in a very dire spot and posting a rumor about how it could be even worse did not help.

I hope I could clear up a few things for you guys and am sorry for causing trouble.





Albatroes

"I got contacted by Blizzard and they basically just told me that the data is false...."

But is really false Blizzard....is it really....? Just as this can't be proven right, they aren't proving things are wrong either.

Lets be real though, 1.5-2 more years of the azerite system sounds appealing to no one, not even the Blizzard team. Personally, I'm still hung up over the gcd changes since I playing half the classes/specs I used to makes me feel like I'm constantly lagging/disconnecting.

SBFord

Albatroes said:

"I got contacted by Blizzard and they basically just told me that the data is false...."

But is really false Blizzard....is it really....? Just as this can't be proven right, they aren't proving things are wrong either.

I'm pretty sure those numbers are close-ish but without solid proof, including quick-thinking by the Weak Auras dude to screen it, it's an unsubstantiated rumor without any credible evidence to back it up. People's speculation, including mine, is pure bunk.

Blizzard doesn't have to -- and isn't going to -- provide any sub numbers. That's been going on for at least 3 years now. We need to move on past that since no one else does either.

KalebGrayson

To those still playing BFA, I have some questions.  Are you having more fun in BFA than in Legion?  Is you class more fun to play now than in Legion?  Do you think the story in this expansion so far is good or just weird with plot holes and weird stuff that's not explained?  Is the new gear system better than old set bonuses that changed when you changed specs?  Is the Necklace better than Artifact weapons?  This is just my opinion here, but BFA sucks.  Legion was much more fun.  The youtubers aren't making this stuff up.  BFA is in a bad way and the sub numbers are likely reflecting this.

Kabulozo

My brother left BFA after 1 month once the sub expired.

tawess

KalebGrayson said:

To those still playing BFA, I have some questions.  Are you having more fun in BFA than in Legion?  Is you class more fun to play now than in Legion?  Do you think the story in this expansion so far is good or just weird with plot holes and weird stuff that's not explained?  Is the new gear system better than old set bonuses that changed when you changed specs?  Is the Necklace better than Artifact weapons?  This is just my opinion here, but BFA sucks.  Legion was much more fun.  The youtubers aren't making this stuff up.  BFA is in a bad way and the sub numbers are likely reflecting this.

In general the story in BfA is as good if not at some points better than Legion, less omg cinematic moments so far but at least i have two stories to pick from with alts. Also i do not feel like i have to rush as many alts this time (legion and the weapons in there was murder) but the stakes did go higher in Legion and it is a much more adaptable foe. 

But yes.. i am having more fun, if not because i feel less rushed this time around. 

advokat666

Ok let´s see,

Are you having more fun in BFA than in Legion?

No

Is you class more fun to play now than in Legion?

No

Do you think the story in this expansion so far is good or just weird with plot holes and weird stuff that's not explained?

I like the story, imo it was time to bring back the fight between alliance and horde.

Is the new gear system better than old set bonuses that changed when you changed specs?

It is absolutely awful. Acquiring Azerite gear with the right traits is awful, everything is rng. The balancing of the traits is awful. For many classes only stat increasing traits are bis and not class-defining ones. It is also completely unclear what trait will be good, so you have to sim every piece of gear you get. More often than not you are not exchanging a lower ilevel piece with a higher one because the lower one has a way better trait.

Is the Necklace better than Artifact weapons?

The necklace is stupid, plain and simple. There are only stats on the necklace which get higher when the necklace levels. It is completely boring. 

Albatroes

SBFord said:

Albatroes said:

"I got contacted by Blizzard and they basically just told me that the data is false...."

But is really false Blizzard....is it really....? Just as this can't be proven right, they aren't proving things are wrong either.

I'm pretty sure those numbers are close-ish but without solid proof, including quick-thinking by the Weak Auras dude to screen it, it's an unsubstantiated rumor without any credible evidence to back it up. People's speculation, including mine, is pure bunk.

Blizzard doesn't have to -- and isn't going to -- provide any sub numbers. That's been going on for at least 3 years now. We need to move on past that since no one else does either.

I mean, I agree with you on they'll never release numbers again, but it goes to perception, which Bellular talked alot about in one of his videos. The community is seeing a lot of smoke, yet no fire but at the same time they aren't seeing emergency units otw to check it out, only cops outside of the area telling them there's nothing to see here (if that makes sense). They aren't showing the community (or at least doing a good job of it) that they even have an idea of what they are doing/where are they going with literally anything. How can you realistically expect people to give you money if you can't prove your product is either good or key issues are being addressed (and no, the azerite plans aren't addressing key issues with the system, honestly, the plans are going to make it worse if you think about it since the new ring will only have spec specific traits).

JeffSpicoli

Sounds to me like this guy was on to something then got scared once Blizzard reached out to him and the OP went into damage control. Listen, regardless, It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a CONSPIRACY THEORIST to know WOW is hemorrhaging subs especially in terms of a new xpac launch. Just look at the general forums its been a graveyard of Non trolling goodbye's. The game has gotten stale and Ion and Co. are taking it places that even the casuals aren't thrilled about. Nothing lasts forever, Not even WOW . Although we are far , very far from WOW's inevitable death it will come, But Blizzard will ride that baby into the sunset milking every last dollar along the way.

SBFord

The sad fact of it all is that Blizzard is still running itself like it's 2004. They think they can get away with "when we're finished, it's done" and without showing any real interest in communicating with the playerbase. After all, it's pretty telling when a company the size of Blizzard has sponged off of three major IPs that are 20+ years old and only managed to come up with something totally new once: Overwatch. Sure, there's Heroes of the Storm, but that's based on Starcraft, Diablo, and Warcraft. And there's Hearthstone, again based off of Warcraft.

They need something new, something different and something that appeals to a new generation. They definitely need to do something better than what they've given to WoW lately.

My sub ran out about 3 weeks ago and I haven't missed BfA at all and probably won't subscribe again until 8.2 or beyond.

Kabulozo

the only thing that will raise there numbers is the classic servers, after seeing this leaked data, it will not be hard for classic to have more subs than bfa.

Phry

SBFord said:

Albatroes said:

"I got contacted by Blizzard and they basically just told me that the data is false...."

But is really false Blizzard....is it really....? Just as this can't be proven right, they aren't proving things are wrong either.

I'm pretty sure those numbers are close-ish but without solid proof, including quick-thinking by the Weak Auras dude to screen it, it's an unsubstantiated rumor without any credible evidence to back it up. People's speculation, including mine, is pure bunk.

Blizzard doesn't have to -- and isn't going to -- provide any sub numbers. That's been going on for at least 3 years now. We need to move on past that since no one else does either.

I think the last time they published the player subs they were in the 4 million region, its been a few years since then and i doubt that the trend has been positive, even so i doubt the figure is below 2 million, but then again, it might be.
By this point the only way to really get some kind of insight into how many subs there might be, is from the sales of BfA expansion, although of course its highly probable that a significant proportion of those who bought BfA might well have unsubbed by now, just as the information from Weak Auras indicated.
There is one positive that could be taken from this though, it might create enough of an impetus for Blizzard to push out Classic that bit faster.

Kabulozo

last time blizzard published numbers, it was around 4.5 million worldwide. And numbers have been falling since then, there were a few spikes at a new expansion launch, but numbers kept falling, the data may be legit.

Forgrimm

KalebGrayson said:

To those still playing BFA, I have some questions.  Are you having more fun in BFA than in Legion?  Is you class more fun to play now than in Legion?  Do you think the story in this expansion so far is good or just weird with plot holes and weird stuff that's not explained?  Is the new gear system better than old set bonuses that changed when you changed specs?  Is the Necklace better than Artifact weapons?  This is just my opinion here, but BFA sucks.  Legion was much more fun.  The youtubers aren't making this stuff up.  BFA is in a bad way and the sub numbers are likely reflecting this.

Legion was a much better expansion in almost every way. I'm still having fun with BfA, but it feels like it was slapped together half-assed and rushed out the door.

Albatroes

"when we're finished, it's done"

I honestly wish Blizzard still thought like that. BfA felt like an Early Access expansion that they had to kick out the door because Activision told them to. 8.1 is essentially going to make the expansion work like it should've did on start, but the azerite changes wont come until the new raid when the ilvl goes up, so instead of 'suffering' for 1-2 months, its gonna be more like 3-4 months.

I mean, part of me feels bad for Ion (maybe J. Allen Brack to a degree) since they do have Activision as a boss and Activision isn't really known for their creative freedom, but Ion's 'philosophies' have always been the things at the forefront of most player contention. Even though all the time gating sounds like an Activision move, the other stuff like ripping existing systems out of the game just to give them back (i.e. glyphs/passives from previous expansions that 'disappeared'), class design, etc he signs off on.

Personally, I dont feel like he's right guy for the job because creatively, a lot of the things added under his leadership have been lacking. The scenery and story have been the strongest points in the past 3 expansions. People argue that the artifact system was good in Legion but forget how much we lost before its implementation so it became a replacement instead of an addition. You couple that with us losing it in BfA without a solid replacement (and no azerite is not a replacement since we're essentially regrinding stuff we lose when we 'upgrade'). After WoD, we stopped 'advancing' as characters. We learn nothing past 100 and get temporary systems that die after each expansion. There's no overall sense of progression anymore.

laserit

Classic is going to be more interesting than ever.

You can milk me for a few more years if you pull on the right teets Blizz

Albatroes

Jean-Luc_Picard said:

KalebGrayson said:

To those still playing BFA, I have some questions.  Are you having more fun in BFA than in Legion?  Is you class more fun to play now than in Legion?  Do you think the story in this expansion so far is good or just weird with plot holes and weird stuff that's not explained?  Is the new gear system better than old set bonuses that changed when you changed specs?  Is the Necklace better than Artifact weapons?  This is just my opinion here, but BFA sucks.  Legion was much more fun.  The youtubers aren't making this stuff up.  BFA is in a bad way and the sub numbers are likely reflecting this.

I'd say I enjoy BFA even more than I enjoyed Legion, because I like the setting better, and the stories is just top notch, on both sides.

I'll agree with you on the setting. Legion was way too much green on everything to the point I was honestly starting to feel sick. But sadly the narrative and the scenery are BfA's only strong points (to me at least).

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

MonsutaMan

I don't play WoW. It just seems so dated to me.......

Saying that, WoW is......and may forever go down as the MMO GOAT, because they have a 2004 mmo, in 2021.....And have millions of people paying for it. This MMO had nearly 2 decades of pure dominance.

No mmo can make up that amount of ground. The fact that their drop, puts them in ESO territory says a lot of the Blizzard hustle.

If, the figures are true that is.

Anyway, I could never really get into that game; being a mmo vet around the late 90s.