A tough decision for Blizzard: World of Warcraft Official Magazine announces cessation of publication

Blizzard has recently announced that the official World of Warcraft magazine will be discontinued. In an email to users, Blizzard said: "This was a difficult decision. Although Blizzard Entertainment and Future US are proud of the jointly founded magazine, we have decided to focus our attention on other areas."

The World of Warcraft Official Magazine was launched in December 2009 and was co-published by Blizzard and UK publisher FuturePlus. It was available in English, German, French, and Spanish versions. Each issue contained 148 pages of content, and every cover featured artwork from top artists approved by Blizzard. The magazine had no advertisements and was not available for retail sale.

Analysts believe that this discontinuation is another indication that Blizzard's product focus is moving away from WOW after the company admitted to losing World of Warcraft subscribers and the game declining in popularity. Users who have already subscribed to the magazine can apply for a refund or receive a pet in the World of Warcraft game instead of a refund. There are six pets available: Moonkin Hatchling, Lil XT, Cenarion Hatchling, Pandaren Monk, Lil KT, and Lil Ragnaros.