These stats all derive from data I have been able to collect from site like mmodata.blogspot.co.uk and mmodata.net.
So, in 2009 and again in 2010, WoW hit 12 million subscribers worldwide, and there are currently around 10
million.
In 2009, the number of Peak Concurrent Users (number of players logged
in) went over 900 thousand. Incidentally, the record for PCU is held by the Chinese MMORPG called
Fantasy Westward Journey – with over 2.5 million!
Aion hit 4 million global subscribers in 2009, Lineage just over
3 million globally in 2003.
Even if
subscribers doesn’t equal players, that’s still a lot of monthly payments going
to the developers. Many players like to keep subscribed in case they want to dip in
and out of the game, which of course benefits the developers as well. Plus some games used to delete your character if you unsubbed.
If we look at the total MMORPG subscriptions on MMOData.net, we see a rise over time. Only recently, with the popularity of non subscription based games coming in, has it begun to drop.
So how did this genre reach such a large demographic?
Up Next: Who Plays MMORPGs?
