WoW Dragonflight updates have subscriber numbers exploding again

Thanks to Dragonflight, WoW’s number of subscribers is reportedly growing following the game’s post-Shadowlands decline.

Despite enjoying a record-breaking launch, World of Warcraft suffered a decline in players during the Shadowlands era. The user base, specifically, found the expansion’s first year disappointing due to a long content drought that stifled any previously built-up momentum.

Many will recall that a contingent of the WoW community moved to Final Fantasy XIV for a time. However, the increasing positivity surrounding Dragonflight has clearly improved things in this respect.

Windows Central has corroborated a BellularGaming report claiming that WoW’s number of active subscribers is on the rise. According to both, the MMORPG currently boasts an estimated 7.25 million subscribers.

Since the user base usually experiences a drop-off amid an expansion’s post-launch phase, this figure is nothing to scoff at. BellularGaming’s analysis of the subscription figures begins around the 11:25 mark in the video below:

Replies to a Reddit thread on the matter agree that Dragonflight has done wonders for World of Warcraft. One of WoW’s millions of subscribers wrote, “Can confirm. Resubbed the other day since 2016.”

Another person chimed in to say, “Dragonflight gave WoW back the sense of wonder and exploration.”

Such discourse, and the above analysis, comes on the heels of a leaked GDC 2024 presentation wherein it’s evident Blizzard learned from the mistakes of Shadowlands.

Whether or not the crew can keep up this momentum as it heads into WoW’s The War Within expansion remains to be seen.