Buried within Activision Blizzard's midnight press release announcing its split from media conglomerate Vivendi, the company also stated that its world-leading MMORPG World of Warcraft stood at 7.7 million subscribers worldwide for the financial period ending June 30th. Activision Blizzard reported 8.3 million subscribers as of the end of March, meaning that these new numbers represent a decline of about 200,000 a month in the intervening period. We've seen faster rates of attrition in the past, but the news still isn't good. Furthermore, it's a bit unclear how much those 7.7 remaining users are paying in, as global subscription rates differ. For reference, Activision Blizzard defines "subscriber" thusly [PDF]:
World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.
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