World of Warcraft has been dying for almost 2 decades. At least that’s what many claim. But isn’t that getting a bit boring?
“World of Warcraft is dead” – a saying that active players of Blizzard’s MMORPG can only smile wearily at. Because the phrase is not a new invention. Basically, it has been heard since the vanilla version of World of Warcraft. Every major patch, every new feature, and every announcement has led to the claim that World of Warcraft is dying for almost 2 decades.
A thought process that often underlies this seems to be: “I’m no longer having fun with World of Warcraft. That means the game has become bad. Which in turn means, WoW is pretty much dead.”
Of course, one can argue that World of Warcraft is no longer at its peak from back in the day – that will probably never be achieved again. Yet, if you follow various discussions, there are basically only two states in which WoW has ever existed: the best MMORPG of all time and dead.
That’s a bit silly, isn’t it?
Community discusses: Why do many say WoW is always dead?
Even in the Subreddit of World of Warcraft, the topic of why people constantly claim that “World of Warcraft is dead” is often discussed.
In one of the most recent posts, AlarmedBrush7045 asks:
Why do people say that Retail WoW is dead?
[…] Is this some kind of inside joke on Reddit or something?
I’m on a “recommended” server and I always see people in the open world finishing world events, I always find people for dungeons and raids, and I randomly see people fishing or something.
The discussion has received numerous comments where attempts are made to explain why many continuously refer to World of Warcraft as dead.
A lot of support goes to evilwomanenjoyser, who notes: “People say ‘dead’ when they mean: ‘I, as the main character of life, no longer play. So nobody plays anymore.'”
This is commented by AmyDeffered with: “That has the same energy as: ‘No one goes to this restaurant anymore because it’s always crowded.'”
Similarly, the ongoing discussion about “WoW killers” is mentioned, even though these have become less frequent in recent years. Centcentcent writes:
People unironically claim that Final Fantasy XIV killed World of Warcraft. As if it were unimaginable that both games could be doing well at the same time.
Public_Radio- believes that behind this are mainly bitter ex-players:
People who say the game is dead are just bitter ex-players looking for external validation for having quit. In their eyes, the game will never be good again, just to justify their reason for quitting.
WoW players make WoW worse
Especially absurd is the conflict that plays out between the different WoW groups. Because World of Warcraft (Retail) isn’t just harshly criticized by former players, but also by those who are currently exploring the various Classic versions.
Anyone who plays one of the various Classic variants (WoW Classic Era, Season of Discovery, WotLK Classic) and hangs out in general chat channels or makes a mistake in dungeons knows this already. Players who hold a different opinion or don’t play optimally are insulted as “Retail noob”, “Retail kiddie” or something similar – with the clear intention of making it clear: “Whoever plays WoW Dragonflight is an idiot because the game is crap.”
Although there are also occasional remarks in Dragonflight like “Then go to Classic if you don’t like it here,” calling someone a “Classic player” and seeing that as an insult occurs much less frequently.
Surely this is partly due to the fact that some of the current Classic players now consist of those who previously criticized modern WoW for years and labeled it as “dead.” And since one can no longer complain about WoW in general (which one now plays), one has to take a subgroup: the “stupid Retail players.” Ah yes. Very mature.
Both groups seem to like to forget that the two games support each other and are good for each other. WoW Classic helps to bring back some old virtues – like the old talent system. WoW Retail, on the other hand, has smart and meaningful innovations that have also been adopted in Classic – such as the loot trading time from bosses or sharding in overcrowded areas.
World of Warcraft has problems that no one denies
None of this excludes the fact that World of Warcraft indeed has objective problems. Of course, it no longer has the subscriber numbers it did back in Wrath of the Lich King. There are many reasons for that.
The three biggest reasons are likely:
- World of Warcraft is competing with many other MMORPGs, video games in general, and streaming services.
- Many of the “original” players are no longer students or pupils, but are in the midst of life with careers, families, and simply have less time.
- Even the best game loses its appeal at some point. After 5, 10, 15, or 20 years, some simply long for something different.
In addition, there are plenty of little issues in the game that make World of Warcraft rather unattractive or only difficult to access for newcomers:
- The story is quite confusing with 9 expansions and opaque for newcomers.
- There are countless contents, many of which are outdated, which further complicates entry.
- Subscription fees are seen by many as “outdated,” especially given strong free-to-play competition.
How is World of Warcraft doing right now?
That World of Warcraft is currently doing quite well can be evidenced by numbers – even though there have not been any official player numbers from Blizzard for quite some time. Because there are other figures that can be accessed.
Even though World of Warcraft is certainly much more than just “Mythic+” or raids, these activities are still a good indicator of how the game is currently doing. After all, they are the endgame contents that quite a few are preoccupied with.
Typically, the first season of an expansion is quite successful, as most players are playing there. Over the course of the patches, this number steadily declines, so later seasons can register significantly fewer players:
In the current third season of Dragonflight, this is not the case. Although the 3rd season has already reached week 11, it is still performing significantly stronger than the 2nd season.
Although participation in M+ is slowly declining, that is normal as a season progresses – after all, many have slowly acquired their “Best in Slot” gear and the dungeons become less attractive. The fact that participation in week 11 is still greater than in week 4 of the previous season is a clear indication that at least the endgame of WoW is doing really well.
Finally, one can gauge the state of World of Warcraft by a very simple fact: If World of Warcraft or even just the Retail variant were really as “dead” as many claim – would a company really say that 3 new expansions are already in development and that further expansions are also being considered?
You can watch the trailer for the next expansion “The War Within” here:
Would one invest millions into the development of new expansions for a “dead” game – at a time when there are many layoffs and other games at Blizzard are even being completely discontinued?
World of Warcraft is not dead. And if one continues to consistently claim this after 5, 10, or 15 years, one mainly makes themselves ridiculous.
World of Warcraft “died” for the first time when paladins came for the Horde and shamans for the Alliance. Then it supposedly died with the introduction of a hero class – and with every subsequent patch thereafter as well. Through the group finder, through LFR, through the level squish, through the new character models, and every other detail that has changed.
World of Warcraft has changed and is no longer the game that some once fell in love with – but for many others, it is exactly what they enjoy. And that should eventually be accepted without foam at the mouth and perhaps turned to more pleasant activities instead.
World of Warcraft is many things. It is different. It is not like it used to be. It has evolved. In some points for the better. In others for the worse. But one thing it certainly is not, no matter how many people keep saying it: dead.
