Fans Flocking Back to World of Warcraft

After trying other MMORPGs like Age of Conan and Warhammer Online, many who canceled their World of Warcraft subscriptions to play these games have now come back to the land of Azeroth.

Since its release nearly four years ago, World of Warcraft has become the modern definition of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). With over 11 million users and second expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, hitting store shelves in a week, it seems as though there is no slowing down for Activision-Blizzard’s cash cow.

While WoW, as it’s commonly called, is certainly the elephant in the room when it comes to MMORPGs, several titles have risen to challenge it. Unfortunately, most have failed, some to the point of no return. Hellgate : London, Age of Conan and Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa were all expected to pull in a respectable user base, but to no avail. Hellgate : London and its developer Flagship Studios are all but defunct.Tabula Rasa never caught on, and Age of Conan, which had high popularity when it initally released, has seen such a drop in users that it needed to combine some of its servers just to keep the game active.

One MMO, Warhammer Online, seemed to have the backstory and userbase to challenge World of Warcraft. With 750,000 users, Warhammer has only been out for less than two months, but user response and growth have been strong enough to indicate that the title will likely not see the same fate as some of its competitors.

Unfortunately for many MMOs, old habits die hard for some WoW fans who ventured into new games. According to Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, many of those who listed Age of Conan and Warhammer Online as the reason they were canceling their $15/month WoW subscription are coming back to the land of Azeroth. "Age of Conan launched toward the end of the June quarter, and Warhammer Online came out in mid-September," said Morhaime. "To date, 68 percent of the players who listed Age of Conan as their reason for cancellation, and 46 percent of players who listed Warhammer as their reason for cancellation have reactivated their subscriptions to World of Warcraft."

While exact numbers are not given, these percentages likely represent thousands of gamers who have now flocked back to World of Warcraft. While Age of Conan has essentially dropped off the radar, Warhammer Online seems to be going strong still. The biggest advantage that Warhammer has over WoW competitors is its backstory. Dating back several decades, Warhammer made its name in tabletop gaming and novels. With this in mind, there will always be a group of gamers, even its only considered a niche market, who will be loyal to the forces of Order and Destruction.

With World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King the top pre-order on Amazon, and Wal-Mart’s website also reporting strong pre-order numbers, the question remains : Who will topple World of Warcraft ? At this point, it looks as though Star Trek : Online and Star Wars : The Old Republic are the front runners for "the next big thing," but only time will tell.