The financial success of WoW since the end of 2005 - we estimate that this title alone has generated more than £700 ($1,400) million in western subscription revenues since launch - has prompted significant investment in the sector. Many publishers that were not active in MMOGs but have been tracking the success of Blizzard and Vivendi have been looking at ways to access this lucrative sector or to adopt MMOG-like strategies for their content to drive revenue growth. Screen Digest MMOG research also shows a market that is growing strongly, with more content than ever before and more gamers involved.

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The fact that only ten titles accounted for 85 percent of 2006 western subscription revenue confirms a market that is teeming with commercial risk. This competitive situation is compounded by the market domination of WoW, a title that is expected to have a lifespan of a good few years yet. In 2006, WoW alone represented 54 percent of the subscription market in North America and Europe. Unfortunately, the reality is that many subscription MMOGs in development will fail commercially, as the market is shared between only a handful of titles.