World of Warcraft Subscriber Numbers Rise to 7.8 Million

World of Warcraft subscriber numbers rose to 7.8 million by December 30, 2013, Blizzard has announced.

The news comes as part of the company earning call that took place last night, and is a 200,000 thousand increase from the 7.6 million subscribers reported at the end of the last quarter.

The change could be due to the announcement of a new expansion, or the fact that Mists of Pandaria is drawing to a close. It's certainly interesting however that there is still a market for subscription MMOs, which is something we recently discussed.

The World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor closed beta test will begin "soon" says Blizzard, so if you want a chance to play with the Iron Horde, be sure to opt in or pre-order if you like the sound of the bonuses. For more on the expansion, read our hands-on impressions from BlizzCon.

World of Warcraft had as many as 10 million subscribers when the most recent expansion, Mists of Pandaria, released last September and had more than 12 million at its peak in 2010. Other news from the investor call includes the fact that Diablo III has now managed to sell an astonishing 15 million copies.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor and longtime MMO fan. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.

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