World of Warcraft player base steady at 10 million thanks to Mists of Pandaria release

Prior to the release of Mists of Pandaria, Blizzard's long-standing MMO was bleeding subscribers. With many leaving the game and flocking over to newer, flashier MMOs, it appeared World of Warcraft's days were numbered. However, thanks to the release of Mists of Pandaria which, I admit, I thought would be a disaster, World of Warcraft's subscriptions have seemed to steady out.

In the latest Activision Blizzard financial report it was revealed that subscriptions for the game have risen back beyond the 10 million mark, which is about where they were back in early October. During the same report it was said, once again, that the expansion sold through 2.7 million copies in its first week on sale.

The success of Mists of Pandaria coupled with Diablo 3's strong performance has helped Activision Blizzard hold its position as the "#1 publisher in the U.S. and Europe" for 2012. It was also reported that Activision Blizzard had a "better-than-expected" Q3 2012, with net revenues of $841 million.