Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft suffered a loss of nearly three million in subscriptions in the first quarter of 2015 as part of Activision Blizzard's Q1 2015 Financial Results. In a move to encourage more access for existing subscribers, Blizzard has introduced the WoW Token to let players trade in-game currency for monthly subscriptions.
Activision Blizzard's Q1 2015 financial report highlights an increase in the company's revenue despite the nearly three million decrease in Blizzard's World of Warcraft subscriptions. According to the company's financial report, they were expecting the decline in subscription from last year's 10 million high. Regardless of the 2.9 million subscription decline, World of Warcraft is still top MMORPG.
"Blizzard Entertainment had the largest Q1 online player community in its history, up a double digit percentage year over year despite no major launches in the quarter. As expected and consistent with our experience following prior expansions, we saw a decline in the World of Warcraft subscriber number. Subscribers ended the quarter at 7.1 million. World of Warcraft's revenue performance at constant FX has been more stable, driven by continued strong uptake on value added services, and price increases in select regions, which partially offset subscriber declines, particularly in the East. World of Warcraft remains the No. 1 subscription-based MMORPG in the world".
For the remaining 7.1 million subscribers, in-game currency and subscriptions can now be traded with other players. The WoW Token lets players exchange gold and subscription in a more secure environment. According to lead game designer Ion Hazzikostas, the in-game trading is not a move for World of Warcraft to become free-to-play. It is instead a move in order to give ease-of-access to subscribers while restricting access from "the third-party goldselling market that's been a blight on the game for such a long period of time."
The introduction of the WoW Token will greatly increase in-game security, further solidifying World of Warcraft in the top positon in the ever-increasing competetive world of MMORPG.
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