Oh no! We've been transported into a world _inside the computer_ where we need to defeat big bads with the help of our monster pals! That's right, we're in China talking about the world's most popular massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft! Why _is_ it so popular after more than a decade?

Next week, we're gonna get _wicket_ on you as we travel to India to talk about fans of the oft misunderstood sport, _cricket_!

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**Origins:**

World of Warcraft is a popular MMORPG created by Blizzard Entertainment and set in the already existing _Warcraft_ universe. It was released in 2004, and the player takes on the role of a member of either the Horde, or the Alliance as one of the many multitudes of races and classes. In China, it is known as "World of Magic Beasts".

**Most Active:**

Interest in [World of Warcraft has been on the decline](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F021dvx,Aion), with the most interest taking place between November 2004 and September 2011 with a peak between January 2007 and January 2009.

**Size of Fandom:**

As of 2014, according [to an article in Engadget](https://www.engadget.com/2014/01/28/100-000-000-world-of-warcraft-accounts-infographic/), there were over 100 million World of Warcraft accounts.

However, a more accurate number might the number of active subscriptions: [a peak of 12 million in October of 2010, and 5.5 million in October 2015](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Warcraft).

The subreddit, [r/wow](https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/) has over 400 000 subscribers.

**Around the world:**

World of Warcraft is popular in many different parts of the world. Below are some rough estimates of number of players from different parts of the world:

> 1. China, Asian Realms: 3.2 million players> 2. United States and Canada, North American Realms: 3.0 million players> 3. United Kingdom, European Realms: 1.0 million players> 4. South Korea, Asian Realms: 800,000 players> 5. Germany, European Realms: 600,000 players> 6. Taiwan, Asian Realms: 350,000 players> 7. France, European Realms: 200,000 players> 8. Russia, European Realms: 150,000 players> 9. Australia, North American Realms: 120,000 players> 10. Latin America, North American Realms: 100,000 players> 11. Spain, European Realms: 80,000 players> 12. Other, NA/EU/Asian Realms: 800,000 players>> — [WoWWiki - WoW population by country](http://wowwiki.wikia.com/wiki/WoW_population_by_country)

**Fan Activity:**

There are over 200 000 results for World of Warcraft on DeviantArt, and Archive of Our Own has over 2000 fanfics related to World of Warcraft.

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/41-figure-skating-fans/) Famous Last Words

**Z**

Primarily popular in China because there are so many internet cafes.

**G**

...Popular in China for the same reason that they like Windows XP so much.

**T**

World of Warcraft is so popular in China because ~~Silk Road~~ Aion is a Korean game, and there's a racism thing going on there.

### The Verdict

**Z is out.**

**G is out.**

**T is out.**

### This week's spotlight

**Running of the Gnomes**

We were unable to find an official source for the event, but from [this article from 2017](http://kotaku.com/world-of-warcrafts-running-of-the-gnomes-fan-event-gets-1794880791):

> Since 2010, World of Warcraft players have been creating hordes of pink-haired level one gnomes and running them across Azeroth to support the fight against breast cancer. This year Blizzard is giving the event a boost with special decorations, a cheering crowd and its own special quest.

> The tradition of running low-level gnomes across a danger-filled continent dates back to EverQuest in the early 2000s, back before World of Warcraft came along and took over the MMO-space. It’s a high danger, low stakes sort of thrill that helps pass the