When World of Warcraft Classic went live in August 2019, we pondered its long-term viability. Some thought it would survive at least as long as Blizzard continued to provide updates, while others predicted it would be a nostalgic blip.

It's too early to tell, but at this point, those betting on its durability are likely to come out on top. In its Q4 earnings release today, Activision said that World of Warcraft's "active player community" (defined as players with monthly or long-term subscriptions) as of the end of 2019 was more than double that as of the end of Q2, less than two months before the launch of Classic He stated.

"When we designed the model for World of Warcraft Classic, it was important that players could support both games with one existing subscription. We are committed to continuing to support both experiences over the long term," said Blizzard President J. Allen Brack during the Q&A call

.

"Given the pace of content updates for Modern WoW and for Classic, we ended the year with a subscriber base that was double that at the end of Q2. Players also continued to participate in both versions of the game. We launched Visions of N'zoth, a content patch for Modern WoW, in January, and engagement with Classic has been particularly strong in the East, where we are seeing very high levels of player retention."

Phase 3 of the World of Warcraft Classic update schedule, which adds the 40-player raid Blackwing Lair, will be released on February 13.