End of an Era: 'World of Warcraft' Entering Final Phase?

Almost 11 years later, World of Warcraft is still a strong contender in the MMO market, but do signs indicate that WoW is entering it's final phase? Is this the beginning of the end of an era?

It's certainly possible. In a recent announcement, Blizzard has declared that they will no longer be releasing the subscriber numbers for WoW. Considering that they are are at a nine-year-low, at a mere 5.5 million current subscribers, it's not surprising. Especially since "World of Warcraft had 10 million worldwide subscribers at the end of 2014."

I'm not surprised at the fall of WoW's popularity. I loved the game years ago. I started playing right after the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack came out in in November 2008. It was a lot of fun to play until it gradually became simpler and less complex, with fewer choices to make and fewer varieties of builds becoming optimal. It was the Mists of Pandaria expansion that really changed things for me, and it was then that I stopped being a regular subscriber. I've hopped on and off for a month or two here and there over the last three years, but with all the changes and the lower numbers of players on the servers where I've had my main characters, it's gotten less and less rewarding to play the game.

I don't believe interest in WoW will die for a long time, but I do believe the end is in site. A lot of the major storylines are being wrapped up and conflicts resolved. And that's a good thing. WoW will always be one of the greatest MMO's of all-time. When I ask non-gamers about online role playing games, most of them either mention or have heard of WoW. But the game is getting old, and in a few years, Blizzard will need to move on to make another genre defining MMO.

And yes, I know people have been calling for World of Warcraft to end soon since it started. But the end is nigh. Whether it's in a two years or in five, the game has a limited life. There is only so much that can be added to a game before it needs to be redone. Of course, for all the die-hard fans out there, rejoice. Legion will be coming hopefully sometime next year, and lead designer Tom Chilton said, "we do have more expansion packs planned already."

So is World of Warcraft doomed? Nope. Not at all. Is it in it's final phase? I think it's heading there. I hope the game has a good life ahead of it, however long it is, and I personally am looking forward to seeing what Blizzard has next for the Warcraft universe.