It appears that the latest expansion for World of Warcraft, Dragonflight, might not have sold as well as its predecessor, Shadowlands. While player feedback for Dragonflight has been overwhelmingly positive, some key indicators suggest its sales may not have matched those of Shadowlands.
World of Warcraft Youtuber Bellular highlighted a few points in his latest video on why the expansion might not be doing so hot despite many players and reviewers calling it the best WoW expansion in a long time.
No Official Numbers from Blizzard
First and foremost, an essential indicator of why Dragonflight might not be doing as well as previous expansions is that Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind World of Warcraft, has yet to disclose how many copies of Dragonflight have been sold.
This is unusual, as the company typically releases sales figures for its expansions. The fact that they have yet to do so for Dragonflight suggests that the numbers may be lower than they were for Shadowlands.
Early Promotions
Another reason to suspect that Dragonflight’s sales are lower is that Blizzard is offering 30 days of extra game time with the expansion. This is an unusual move for the company, and it’s possible that they are doing this in an effort to boost sales.
A Dracthyr Evoker trial has also been made available, letting players test the new class for free.
These promotions usually come later in an expansion’s life cycle, not at launch. This suggests that Blizzard is trying to get more people interested in the expansion and thus drive sales.
Lower Twitch Numbers
In addition, Twitch streamer and viewer numbers for Dragonflight have been lower than those for Shadowlands. This is a notable trend, as World of Warcraft is one of the most popular games on the platform, and the number of streams and viewers is often a good indicator of a game’s popularity.
Less Boss Kills
Another factor to consider is the number of players who have killed the first boss of the Vault of the Incarnates raid in Dragonflight. This number is significantly lower than the number of players who killed the first boss in Shadowlands, which could suggest that Dragonflight has not attracted as many players.
Youtuber Asmongold pointed out that this might be because fewer players are interested in raiding in WoW due to the enormous time-sink it has become compared to other MMOs.
It’s worth noting that the last two World of Warcraft expansions, Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands, have been poorly received by some players, which could also be contributing to lower sales numbers for Dragonflight. It might take more than one good expansion to bring World of Warcraft back to its former glory.
In addition, there is currently a lawsuit against Blizzard, which could be impacting player interest in the company’s products.
Overall, while it’s difficult to say why Dragonflight’s sales may be lower than Shadowlands, it’s possible that a combination of these factors could be contributing to the decline.
Regardless, it’s clear that Blizzard has some work to do in order to regain player trust and interest in their expansions. Until then, World of Warcraft players will have to wait and see how Dragonflight fares in the long run.
Have you played World of Warcraft: Dragonflight? What are your thoughts on the expansion? Let us know in the comments!