World of Warcraft and Those Who Persevere

By Ross Beattie

You have probably already heard about Microsoft’s plans to acquire Activision Blizzard. It is the biggest gaming news story of the year, and the effects of the deal will no doubt be felt across the entire industry. It also places a big fat question mark over the future of Activision Blizzard’s longest serving live service game.

World of Warcraft (WoW) has been receiving updates (and the occasional downdate) since its release in 2004. In that time the size of the player-base has risen and fallen, but recently seems to have become stuck in a bit of a rut. According to some of WoW’s most dedicated fans, this decline is no coincidence.

“My sub is ending tomorrow, but I've lingered behind for years while all my friends have left. I was a hardcore fan of the setting,” posted long time player Marco_Polaris on the WoW Subreddit: “While I no longer respect the lore they are putting out, it's hard for me to completely let go.”

The game’s newest expansion Shadowlands boasted the biggest launch day of any PC game ever, but was followed by a sharp drop-off in subscribers in the following months. A year on and the disappointing expansion paired with a lack of new content is making other issues within the community and design of the game harder to ignore.

Twitch Streamer and WoW player Exsound has mixed feelings about the game: “The community of (WoW) is very, very passionate about the game, and is very dedicated to it. However, I would say that it's a very toxic one. I see almost every day some type of aggressive behaviour from players.

“I like being part of the game's community as I think the positive voices can still be heard! But the min/maxing attitude, rudeness, and lack of desire to welcome new players sometimes affects me personally.”

For Exsound, joining a Guild was key to improving his experience with the community. He said: “I'm fortunate enough to call some of the members (of my guild) very good friends of mine. Knowing that I can interact with them, simply talking or playing together, is motivation enough to get me to log in to the game almost every day.”

This sentiment is echoed by others on the Subreddit:

“It’s as simple as having people to play with. The only times I have ever taken breaks from WoW is when I was playing alone and had nothing to do,” user Forsaken-Let8739 posted.

“Honestly, the game is therapy for me. I can completely relax playing it and my wife enjoys playing with me from time to time on our WoW characters,” user Accomplished_River90 posted.

Many players cite guilds, friend groups or roleplay communities as their main reason for keeping up their subscription over the years. Beyond this, nostalgia reportedly plays a large part in players’ motivations.

“It's the game I play. It's the game I've always played,” user AvailableAd3813 posted: “I haven’t found anything that works for me yet that can do what WoW does for me. And at this point I've gotten so much time, emotion, and money invested in WoW, I don’t see any point in stopping. I'll play until the servers shut down.”

There is a noticeable difference between the experiences of WoW players and players of one of its main competitors, Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV). FFXIV is, in many respects, a more accessible game with greater emphasis on social connection.

“The FFXIV community is very different and there's something magical about it,” Exsound said: “You're rewarded for doing and clearing old content, helping new players in the process, so it becomes the norm to help each other out. It’s perfectly normal to log into FFXIV, go to a major city, and see hundreds of players just casually socializing, being that through chat, playing music, role-playing, etc. Being part of the FFXIV community makes you feel cosy, warm, and comfortable.

“Final Fantasy is, in my opinion, a more relaxed and laid-back game.”

This is a credit to the game’s design. The Mentor System rewards veterans for helping new players, allowing Mentors to level up faster by giving them an experience boost. This and other aspects of the design encourage deeper connections between players.

“I met my husband while playing FFXIV so it's just kinda our thing now. Been playing together for 7 years, and we will still be playing together right up until the servers are decommissioned (which is hopefully never),” posted user muir7 on the FFXIV Subreddit.

Exsound has ideas on what WoW could do to implement some of the more social elements of FFXIV. He said: “One of them could be player/guild housing. In FFXIV, having a guild house is a pretty big deal, not only because it's difficult to have one but also because it allows you to casually hang out with other members. That would be awesome in WoW!

“(WoW is) an MMO but you can do everything without talking to a single person. At the end of the day, I think that possibility makes some people forget that there is a real person on the other side of the screen when they need to interact with someone.”

MMORPGs live and die by their communities, and the WoW community is suffering from neglect. With all of Activision Blizzard soon to fall under the Microsoft Gaming umbrella, the company will no doubt see a shakeup in its priorities.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently told Axios’ Stephen Totillo: “I want more people to be playing WoW in five years than are playing today.” Achieving this could be as simple as following FFXIV’s example for nurturing a healthy community. With WoW approaching its 20th birthday, the coming change of management could be just what the game needs.