Morhaime: Warhammer and Conan subscribers returning to Warcraft
68 per cent of Age of Conan players and 46 per cent of Warhammer players reactivate subscriptions to World of Warcraft, says CEO
Blizzard's CEO, Mike Morhaime, has revealed that most subscribers who left World of Warcraft for the developer's rival MMOs, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, have returned.
Speaking to investors during the Activision-Blizzard earnings conference call, Morhaime revealed that research done by the company on players leaving World of Warcraft indicated that they were returning in advance of the MMOs latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.
"Even though the quarter was book-ended by competitors in the MMO space, the World of Warcraft subscriber base continued to grow," said Morhaime, according to Seeking Alpha.
"To date, 68 per cent of the players who listed Age of Conan as their reason for cancellation and 46 per cent of the players who listed Warhammer as their reason for cancellation have reactivated their subscriptions to World of Warcraft."
This news supports claims made by Blizzard's COO, Paul Sams, who told GamesIndustry.biz that an increasing number of subscribers were returning to World of Warcraft from Warhammer Online, however it falls short of his given estimate of "well over half" .