Classic are dying – What can help?

2 years after release, WoW: Classic is not doing so well. There are many reasons – but above all, the player base is too divided.

When World of Warcraft: Classic was announced a few years ago, the joy of the fans was huge. To finally be able to dive back into the “original” Azeroth was a long-cherished wish, which at the latest since the expansion “Cataclysm” was no longer possible or could only be fulfilled on illegal private servers.

But now, 2 years after the release of “WoW: Classic” is not much left of the joy. The original Classic realms have degenerated into ghost realms in most cases.

What’s the problem? In the WoW Classic subreddit, people have been talking about the state of WoW Classic and in particular the “Classic era” realms for a while now. The players have largely disappeared. If you take a look at the realm utilization of the Classic-era realms, it becomes clear: almost all of them have dropped to “low” (via worldofwarcraft.com). It is becoming increasingly rare to encounter other games. Thus, a core of the MMORPG experience is in jeopardy.

Reddit user Darkfirex34 posted two screenshots about this to make the discrepancy particularly clear. It shows the realm “Benediction” – once at Christmas 2019 and once at Christmas 2021.

This is how crowded it was in 2019 and so empty in 2021.

While 2 years ago the city of Orgrimmar was full of players celebrating together, in 2021 the Horde capital was almost completely empty.

Multiple games divide the player base: One of the biggest problems may be that the World of Warcraft player base is becoming increasingly fragmented. Not only are players split between “Retail WoW (Shadowlands)” and “Classic.” No, Classic players are also split between “Classic,” “Burning Crusade Classic,” and “- Season of Championship.”

The end result here is clear: the “pure” WoW: Classic is the loser, because it couldn’t keep its players, who left for other adventures instead.

What could help? There have been calls from the community for weeks and months to “Blizzard, merge the realms!” Many players are tired of wandering around in increasingly empty cities – which ultimately only reduces the fun of the game and increasingly drives the numbers of active players into the basement. There are two main solutions:

Merging the realms. Several realms and their active players should merge into one new realm.
Free server transfers, allowing remaining players to escape from “dead” realms.

Both might not be perfect measures, but would create enough time to think about a more long-term solution.

Because the way WoW: Classic is currently set up in the Classic era, there is fun to be had with an active community on only a fraction of the realms – and that selection is getting smaller by the week.

Are you still playing WoW: Classic in the Classic era? Or are you in TBC: Classic or the Championship – Season ?

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