Manacrew was originally intended to be a general website for MMORPGs, but soon after its official release, it focused almost exclusively on WoW. Now, the founder Andi has announced the end.
What kind of website was that? Manacrew was initially announced as a big MMORPG project without bullshit and with a lot of love
. The centerpiece was supposed to be the website with all the important news and guides, which resembled more of a fansite than a news portal. It was meant to be complemented by a YouTube channel, livestreams, and a podcast.
The focus was on new titles like Ashes of Creation or Corepunk, which showed new gameplay at the beginning of the year, but also established games like WoW or New World were to be covered.
Behind the project was Andi, who previously ran Vanion.eu and now wanted to create something new. As early as 2021, he felt uncomfortable relying solely on WoW and wanted to be able to express his love for other MMORPGs as well. Overall, his passion for WoW had faded.
What has happened now? In a video, Andi announced the discontinuation of Manacrew. From now on, no articles will be published there, but it remains online for the time being with the current state. On the associated YouTube channel, all videos – except for the latest – have been set to Unlisted
.
Here you can listen to what Andi has to say. We will also address the most important points in the article:
Manacrew started off bumpy and remained erratic
How did the development go? Rather bumpy. The portal went online much later and with far fewer features than originally planned. The release was intended for early/mid 2022, but in the end, Andi could only release the website just before Dragonflight in November.
After that, Manacrew also primarily focused on WoW. There were daily news and all kinds of guides. Some MMORPGs like Ashes of Creation were still supplemented with news, but many other games were left out. Side projects like the podcast (latest episode on the Dragonflight release in December 2022) or the livestreams were discontinued.
In several video blogs, he explained over months the circumstances and hurdles he encountered over time.
Why is he stopping now? In the end, Manacrew had almost become a WoW site again, like Vanion.eu, from which Andi actually wanted to separate. In the video, he shows the numbers from his old site, which he had taken over after the death of Patrick Vanion
Michalczak and Manacrew:
- Around the release of Shadowlands, Vanion.eu peaked at over 200,000 page views in one day and remained very consistent above 50,000.
- The successor site Manacrew peaked at just under 50,000 page views, but was much more erratic. On bad days, it even went below 18,000.
- Additionally, Andi explains that the numbers on YouTube have also dropped significantly. Instead of over 100,000 views on raid guides, he now usually only generates between 10,000 and 40,000.
These numbers, however, are not enough to finance a full-time person. Thus, there is also no money to pay additional employees who would then provide articles on other MMORPGs. He also assumes that the numbers will not improve in the future.
Additionally, it is made worse by the fact that he himself hardly plays WoW anymore. In the video, it is said: “I’ll be honest, I haven’t logged in for two or two and a half months.”
What happens now? Andi wants to completely distance himself from WoW. He wants to play games again for fun. The YouTube channel will soon be filled with new videos that show his personal journey into the future. And cooking will play a role.
