Western MMOGs Expected To Break Billion Mark By 2011

Based on some quick calculations from a previous post, which found that Blizzard’s raw income from the WoW subscription base alone was worth about $1.44 billion dollars per year, it comes as no surprise that analysts are now estimating that western MMORPG’s will break the $1.5 billion mark by the year 2011.

Screen Digest has released a report on MMORPG revenues and growth, and states that North American subscriptions were worth $576 million last year, and European addicts chipped in $299 million. WoW, of course, leads the charge with an amazing 54% of subscriptions (and a whopping $471 million in revenue) in Western MMOs, and it, along with other game subscriptions, accounted for 87% of the 2006 MMO market. The other 13% is comprised of related items like in-game advertising and item sales.

Altogether, the market broke the $1 billion peak in 2006, and the growth is expected to continue through 2011, when it’s expected that revenue from MMORPGs will net companies more than 1.5 billion dollars. To go from a gross haul of over a billion to a net haul of the same amount in such a short time is staggering.

Via| Next Gen