World of Warcraft has risen to critical success since its
release in November of 2004 (Zenke, 2008). The Guinness Book of World Records lists World of Warcraft (WoW) as the most popular Massive Online Multiplayer game as well as holding the record for most subscribers of any online game in the world. Since its inception in 2004, WoW has gone through many stages in game play development. Through additions such as new dungeons for adventurers to explore or battle arenas for players to compete against one another, Blizzard, the developer of World of Warcraft, has done the best they can to keep the game fresh and interesting for the people who pay monthly for their game. World of Warcraft has left a substantial footprint when it comes to online gaming. Nearly every new game in the genre attempts to live up to the standards that WoW has set and none have come even remotely close, judging solely based on subscriptions. Recently, a new Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) called Star Wars: The Old Republic was released and, although having a great deal of success in its own right, has still failed to reach the subscribership of WoW (Schiesel, 2011). By having the largest player base in MMORPG’s, World of Warcraft becomes the ideal setting to understand the development of communication within small groups in online virtual worlds.
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