Marketing research company SuperData reports that Activision Blizzard is placing some serious thoughts on microtransactions for World of Warcraft, after they found that the once-popular MMO’s revenues have dropped by 54 %.
To be specific, World of Warcraft did make $ 93 million last April, which is a drop of the $ 204 million amount it made seven months before that. SuperData also finds that the game has lost another 700,000 subscribers, and another loss of 1.3 million MAUs (monthly active users) in Asian regions.
To put things in perspective, $ 93 million is actually not that bad. World of Warcraft definitely remains a significant income generator for Activision Blizzard. However, SuperData finds that all the evidence points to more potential revenue in the game if it entered into microtransactions.
SuperData cautions that Activision Blizzard should not try to make the transition from subscription to microtransaction too hastily. Dedicated players are interested in microtransactions, but have also been invested in the older business model for a very long time. Rather, they suggest that World of Warcraft should enter a hybrid model, which has been proven to work for games like Star Wars: The Old Republic and RIFT.
We know that Activision Blizzard was already in the early stages of setting up their in-game store last July, and it has gone up on beta in Asian regions. While understanding their caution, it would be more prudent if Activision Blizzard went forward in bringing the store beta to more regions, so that loyal gamers can provide them the feedback they need so that everyone can start using it in earnest.
Source: SuperData
