World of Warcraft subscribers drop to 7.7 million

World of Warcraft has lost 700,000 players in the last three months, with the MMO now down to 7.7 million active subscribers.

Activision Blizzard reported that 8.2 million people were subscribed to World of Warcraft in March, with CEO Bobby Kotick saying that the company expects to see the number fall further throughout the year.

The decline in World of Warcraft players numbers has been previously attributed mainly to Eastern markets, although Activision did not comment specifically on this latest subscriber decline.

Activision adds that World of Warcraft remains the most popular subscription-based MMO in the world.

Subscribers for the game peaked at over 12 million in October 2010. The gargantuan MMO was originally released in 2004, and has subsequently released four expansion packs: Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria.

A World of Warcraft movie will begin filming in 2014.

World of Warcraft's latest player numbers arrive as Activision Blizzard announces it has spent $5.83 billion on company shares to secure its independence from parent company Vivendi.