Warhammer Online, seemed to have the backstory and userbase to challenge WOW.
DateTime:7/8/2009 5:21:12 PM

With 750,000 users, Warhammer has only been out for less than two months, but user response and growth have been strong enough to indicate that the title will likely not see the same fate as some of its competitors.

Unfortunately for many MMOs, old habits die hard for some WoW fans who ventured into new games. According to Blizzard president Mike Morhaime, many of those who listed Age of Conan and Warhammer Online as the reason they were canceling their $15/month WoW subscription are coming back to the land of Azeroth. "Age of Conan launched toward the end of the June quarter, and Warhammer Online came out in mid-September," said Morhaime. "To date, 68 percent of the players who listed Age of Conan as their reason for cancellation, and 46 percent of players who listed Warhammer as their reason for cancellation have reactivated their subscriptions to World of Warcraft."

While exact numbers are not given, these percentages likely represent thousands of gamers who have now flocked back to World of Warcraft. While Age of Conan has essentially dropped off the radar, Warhammer Online seems to be going strong still. The biggest advantage that Warhammer has over WoW competitors is its backstory. Dating back several decades, Warhammer made its name in tabletop gaming and novels. With this in mind, there will always be a group of gamers, even its only considered a niche market, who will be loyal to the forces of Order and Destruction.