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World of Warcraft Loses 800,000 Subscribers in Three Months

MMO now has 6.8 million subscribers; Diablo III sales reach 20 million copies, as Activision Blizzard sees revenue climb year-over-year.

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World of Warcraft lost 800,000 subscribers during the April-June quarter, publisher Activision Blizzard announced today as part of its latest earnings report. As of June 30, the game had 6.8 million subscribers, which is down from the 7.6 million subscribers as of March 31.

Activision says the downturn in subscribers came mostly in the East. The company called the decline "seasonal" and pointed out that the dip in subscribers was similar to what we saw in the second quarter of 2012, ahead of the release of World of Warcraft expansion Mists of Pandaria.

The next World of Warcraft expansion is Warlords of Draenor, which launches this fall for PC. The expansion's release date will be announced during a special event next week in Los Angeles. Though the expansion isn't out yet, it has already sold 1.5 million units in pre-purchases, Activision Blizzard said today.

Though World of Warcraft's subscriber count is down, revenue from the game is up, Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Morhaime said. He did not provide a specific revenue figure, and Actvision Blizzard does not share this information publicly.

Activision Blizzard also announced today that Diablo III has now sold more than 20 million copies. This figure includes sales of Diablo III itself and the expansion Reaper of Souls, which was the top PC game during the quarter in terms of dollars in both North America and Europe, Activision Blizzard said. Diablo III originally launched as a PC-exclusive, but is now available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions will be released this month as the Ultimate Evil Edition.

Overall, Activision Blizzard posted better-than-expected earnings results for the quarter. Revenue was $658 million compared to $608 million this time last year. Net income, on the other hand, stood at $45 million, just half of the $90 million the company posted last year during the same quarter. On the bright side, Activision Blizzard reported that a record 73 percent of the company's total revenue came from digital sales.

"Today, we have more opportunities to create great content using new platforms and business models while also expanding into new geographies, and are embracing all of these growth opportunities with the same commitment to excellence that we have demonstrated over the past 23 years," Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. "As the world's largest and most profitable independent interactive entertainment company, we remain focused on creating the most compelling, engaging games for our dedicated audiences and providing superior returns for our shareholders."

Activision Blizzard is currently holding an earnings call to discuss these results and answer investor and media questions. Check back later for more.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

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Wil_De

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Am I the only one who misses the time when not everything Blizzard did was about Multiplayer?

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crazynotstupid

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Nop. I have been waiting for WC4 for such a long time that I've given up hope. WC3 was amazing and so was SC2. But it seems now that they don't feel compelled to make new games as long as WOW keeps bringing in the money. My theory is that they've been off the sharp end for such a long time now that they're unsure about the future. I doubt they'll try WC4 or SC3 unless their backs are to the wall. A game like Diablo is easy to make compared to the RTS games which Blizzard was so famous for.

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yasso

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Back then, it was significantly about the fun for all parties concerned. Today, it is aaall about the money, the money, the money, and how to get you addicted and keep milking you. I'm grateful I don't play a single game from Blizzard today.

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Fade2black001

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So after 11 years the graphics still look basically the same

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Fade2black001

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> I seen the changes they have made and they are not that much different. The changes they have done are really small and minor and barely noticeable.

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Fistan87

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> not to be a buzzkill, but just search 2004 wow graphics, and compare that the new ones. Its leaps and bounds different. If you are expecting a next gen graphics from a MMO though i think you are not realistic. Its not a good decision for a game that has such subscriber base. ( most ppl playin it dont bother upgrading pcs anyways)

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Aaronp2k

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they all moved to elder scrolls online....lol.

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SweatySasquatch

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Good, maybe now Blizzard will realize they need to work more on new Ip's or existing ones even if they make tons of money on WOW. WOW was made, I think in 2004, and since then they haven't done much in the way of innovation. The game could be run on any computer made in the last decade, and it looks like utter crap in today's standards. I know gaming isn't all about graphics, but gee, maybe that's why their install base is so high because it can run on anything.

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Dirty_Window

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Article is from August. WoD gave them back about 3 million subs.

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DarkEarth552

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Give me a vanilla server and/or a BC server and I'd be back in a flash. Raising level caps every xpac has just rendered all previous gear/content largely obsolete which is really pretty silly given that most of it was better than what it was replaced with.

You spend a shamefully long time gearing characters up and grinding reps for basically no reason, because as soon as a new xpac comes out, it's all worthless and you may as well start from scratch. More dungeons, bgs, raids, gear etc but no more game resetting xpacs ffs

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jeffryclause

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<< LINK REMOVED >> I feel for you, but even if they didn't raise the level cap, once they add new gear, it still renders previous gear worthless.

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skootbootz

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> Not if they decided to integrate the new gear into current dungeons then people running those areas could still get gear. Maybe if u had a particular dungeon u liked grinding instead of i do this one cuz it forks out the best stuff.


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TheExxorcist

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They would dominate if they just put WOW on console.... one expansion at a time. If SE can do it with FF Realm Reborn (which is higher quality than most any MMO I've seen) Blizz can do it for PS4 /Xone...

Just saying.

The consoles are powerful enough now

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jeffryclause

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<< LINK REMOVED >> ugh...no keyboard == 4 ability/spell buttons.

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TheExxorcist

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Well FF Reborn on PS4 supports full keyboard and mouse...

also the spells on the controller (Hold L2) and the 4 buttons swap to 4 separate set of spells... The touchpad also works as a hotswappable action bar for any quick spell...the game was actually praised for perfect controls on a console, more so people actually preferred the Controller during combat than keyboard and mouse.

Although keyboard was essential for communication

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skootbootz

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Yeah man PS2 had full keyboard support it may have even had mouse support.

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AntonyBurnout

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<< LINK REMOVED >> I don't think WoW gameplay will work in a console.

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JoseanRodrigue9

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<< LINK REMOVED >> and what console whit that be?console can't handle wow what you going to be 8 player max for faction lol at a time in one server

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skootbootz

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> This is just wrong

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SweatySasquatch

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<< LINK REMOVED >><< LINK REMOVED >> The graphics are really shi++y, how could a console, with the specs they have today, not run a game that was made a decade ago? I know there are a lot of people on screen, but come on, WOW looks like shi+.

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TheExxorcist

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Absolutely both new consoles can...

wow isn't really that demanding. If the PS4 can handlearn Planetside 2 (which weversion already seen footage) it can handle wow. I've seen old dual core pcs run it with GeForce 6800 cards and 4 gbs ddr3...

The new consoles trump that. Also the new FF:Realm Reborn plays great on PS4, and it's straight MMO

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JoseanRodrigue9

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<< LINK REMOVED >> but i like that idea they should make a console version of wow even more now the they lower the spell a class has 5 ppl dungeon 10 raid or 15 what ever a console can canhandle at one time

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TheExxorcist

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Agree... FF Realm Reborn, has up to 50+ players on the screen easy... it doesn't even struggle at all... as the coding is designed to "Unnoticeably" blur backround effects in the far distance to retain FPS... it does the job really well...

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aussiedoc

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im waiting for the new blizzard DOTA style game - that could be good

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jeffryclause

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<< LINK REMOVED >> even EQ1 isn't totally free yet.

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JoseanRodrigue9

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<< LINK REMOVED >> why will it be free ?even a million is enough they till get a tin of money

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CassiopeiaGames

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This is when other MMO without a subscripton appears: Warframe and Heroes & Generals comes to mind. Hearthstone perhaps.

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northArrow

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The fact that they haven't had a content patch since September of last year, and won't have one until the expansion hits in December (for $50) explains this. There's nothing to do.


I don't know how they can justify a subscription fee for this

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CassiopeiaGames

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Yeah an asking price for the expansion AND subscription? At least make the expansion cheap. But nooeh. People unsubs because they realise how ludicrus it is.

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Luckydan79

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It's cause they updated the content however the new expansion took longer than they realized. The only reason to go on WOW now is either to clean up the achievements you miss, go on a month and unload all your MOP gear and then just sit back and twiddle your thumbs or do some PVP. However I think they should of focused more on the lvl 100 talents some of them seem really really subpar, or don't add some sort of passive play styles. The talents really have to be special if people waiting for this long.

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vegard1985

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Seriously? Not a content patch for almost a year? Now that's just lazy. Haven't played for well, a little over a year I guess. I'll be leveling a character or two to 100 when WoD hits, but unless it's on a Burning Crusade level, I doubt I'll play for more than a few months.

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joaorafaelrr

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Blizzard! Come to steam!
sometimes i forgor i have Diablo 3

LOve your games! Your Art! Your Mood.
You are TRue (true metal) ARTISTS!

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KindleWithCare

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Kind of the standard with this game. All of this current gear will be meaningless in a few months so many take a break until the expansion is released. I haven't played the game in years but that was always the trend.

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deathBRINGER201

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# players online always drop near new expansion release this is nothing new, as soon as you've completed all the content for current add-ons its hard to keep coming back when there's not alot left to do. just wait till Warlords of Draenor drops and the player base will flow back in

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MABC_1

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<< LINK REMOVED >> This is true. However, they lose hundreds of thousands of players, permanently, with each cycle.

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MABC_1

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Guild Wars 2 released in China and sold 3.8 million copies in 2 months. This could have had an impact.


<< LINK REMOVED >>

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vadagar1

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what murders my cool is that I CONTRIBUTED to those 20 m D3 sales


cause im a F***ing m0r0n that blindly trusted blizzard


for the last time....

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keech

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<< LINK REMOVED >> Believe it or not D3 is actually pretty good since the update right before the expansion went live. I'm not saying it was instantly elevated to legendary classic like D2, but It's actually enjoyable now.

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