World of Warcraft: Forever brought back a record number of lapsed players

World of Warcraft: Forever drew back more returning players than any previous launch in the series and set a new peak for concurrent players, Blizzard says. The launch matters as the new permanent branch offers a way to revisit the game’s 2004-era Azeroth while adding fresh content and storylines.

The game launched on 4 November, following a busy beta, and Blizzard described its release as the smoothest in the franchise’s history. Executive producer Holly Longdale said it also attracted the most new players at a WoW launch in 15 years. The article gives no specific player counts.