World of Warcraft to alleviate player loss with 'Virtual Realms'

Blizzard has announced it will address player concerns over dwindling server population by introducing 'Virtual Realms'.
The feature, which is set to be introduced within the game's upcoming 5.4 patch, will work by virtually linking a number of servers together without actually transferring or merging them.
Detailing 'Virtual Realms' within the 5.4 patch notes, Blizzard says: "Virtual Realms are sets of realms that are fused together, and will behave exactly as if they were one cohesive realm.
"Players on the same Virtual Realm will be able to join guilds, access a single Auction House, join arena teams and raids, as well run dungeons or group up to complete quests."
Players on certain servers have voiced their concerns of the declining popularity of their realm, which is no doubt a result of the 1.3 million subscriber decline that World of Warcraft suffered earlier this year.
Currently, players are able to transfer their players from server-to-server, but in order to do so must pay a fee – one that doesn't sit well with those already paying a monthly fee to play the game.
This new move is one that Blizzard hopes will maintain server popularity whilst addressing the concerns of players on low-population servers.

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