Blizzard EntertainmentOver two decades after its initial release, World of Warcraft is still incredibly popular in 2025, with an expansion releasing in Summer 2024 and Season 2 of The War Within adding even more content for adventurers to dive into.
Whether fans are opting to explore retail WoW or prefer to venture into the past with the popular WoW Classic, Blizzard’s MMO has maintained a dedicated fanbase for almost 20 years. But if you’re curious to know exactly how many people are playing World of Warcraft in 2025, we’ve got all the estimated details below.
WoW player count this month
As of December 2025, it’s estimated according to playerauctions, that a peak of 213,308 of players logged in to continue their World of Warcraft adventures throughout Azeroth on November, with ActivePlayer.io estimating its average monthly players to be lower than October’s 7.6 million at 5.1 million.
Since the launch of Season 2 of WoW’s The War Within expansion on March 4, 2025, the excitement has continued to wear off, with a sudden rise in player count in August. Then, it’s been slightly up and then down since September.
Note: It’s worth bearing in mind that player counts for the game haven’t been officially released outside of Activision Blizzard’s quarterly earnings calls, so take these counts with a pinch of salt.
Player count compared to competitors
Compared to its fellow MMO competitors, World of Warcraft still looks to be one of the best all-time MMORPGs by a landslide.
| MMORPG | Total Player Count (Millions) |
|---|---|
| World of Warcraft | 163.5 |
| FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn | 70.12 |
| Old School RuneScape | 64.89 |
| Elder Scrolls Online | 25 |
| Black Desert Online | 13.61 |
So, is World of Warcraft a dead game?
It’s no secret that WoW has previously declined in its player base, but these statistics prove the legendary MMO is far from dead, with the game celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024, hosting a variety of activities, rewards, and collectibles for their players to take part in.
Related
World of Warcraft’s latest expansion, The War Within, arrived last year too, introducing new content including Hero Talents, which let players experiment even more with builds. The expansion’s story will continue in 2025, as Blizzard has already laid out a detailed roadmap for what to expect.
A year ago in March 2024, an IGN report also revealed the game was on the up, with over 7 million players subscribed to the service.
Ultimately, the amount of new content continuing to be delivered for fans and the fact WoW still dominates in the MMO space means that it’s far from a dead game.
Now you’re up to date with the latest WoW estimates, if you’re curious about other games’ numbers, we’ve got details for Valorant, Fortnite, Diablo 4, Destiny 2, and Pokemon Go.