Then vs Now
Dear Time Travellers,
We launched ChromieCraft 5 years ago. Back then, our numbers were extremely small: the realm went online with the level capped at 19, there was virtually no pre-launch promotion, and only a handful of players were online at any given time. Most of them were AzerothCore enthusiasts, along with friends and family. Even reaching 50 players online felt like a huge achievement in those early days.
By design, ChromieCraft had to grow organically. Resources were limited, and the project relied almost entirely on word of mouth and community trust. Anyone who has been part of a young project knows that growing from 0 to 100 players is often far more challenging than scaling from 500 to 1000. In its early phase, many responsibilities had to be handled before any real structure could emerge. Over time, as the project matured, both the community and the contributor base steadily expanded. This made it possible to delegate responsibilities, share ownership of daily operations, and focus more on long-term stability.
Today, ChromieCraft benefits from the dedication of many contributors who joined along the way. Thanks to their commitment, and to the continued support of our donors, we are now also in a position to provide financial support to some of the most active contributors. This is something that would have been unthinkable in the early days and represents an important step in making the project more sustainable. More details about this initiative can be found here.
To put this journey into perspective, let’s now look at a few statistics from the past five years.
The rise in open-source contribution activity
The following graph is particularly meaningful to us, as it reflects a long-term trend rather than a single milestone. AzerothCore was launched in mid 2016. In its early days, it started as one of several forks in the MaNGOS ecosystem and gradually built its own identity. Today, AzerothCore is among the most actively developed open-source projects in this space and has become a common foundation for many servers and initiatives.
ChromieCraft was launched at the end of 2020. As the graph shows, its introduction coincides with a noticeable increase in contribution activity to AzerothCore. ChromieCraft is a fully featured production server, designed first and foremost for players to enjoy a stable, long-term gameplay experience. At the same time, its progressive nature and close connection with AzerothCore naturally created a strong feedback loop, making it easier for contributors to identify issues, propose improvements, and see their work benefit both the server and the wider open-source project.
Source: https://github.com/azerothcore/azerothcore-wotlk/graphs/contributors
The spread of our philosophy
This is something that cannot be easily quantified or represented through statistics. However, over the years, we have noticed a growing discussion within the WoW emulation community around the importance of open-source development, which lies at the core of ChromieCraft’s philosophy. Topics that were once mostly confined to developers are now increasingly part of broader conversations involving players as well.
Compared to the past, there is today a greater awareness of how open collaboration benefits the entire ecosystem. The idea that projects should contribute back to the software they build upon is no longer seen as abstract or unrealistic. At the same time, ChromieCraft has demonstrated that it is entirely possible to run a fully open-source, production-grade server without compromising stability or player experience. On the contrary, transparency and collaboration tend to reinforce long-term quality.
Looking ahead, we hope to see this mindset continue to grow, with players increasingly valuing servers that actively contribute their improvements back to the development community. In the long run, this shared responsibility is what allows everyone, developers, server administrators, and players alike, to benefit from a healthier and more sustainable ecosystem.
A simple way to support open-source
Today, AzerothCore is followed by more than 7000+ users on GitHub. While GitHub Stars are not a measure of quality, they help increase visibility and make it easier for new contributors to discover the project. Many players are not aware of this, but leaving a star is a simple way to show support if you have a GitHub account.
Screenshot by Humanpriest edited by Frab
Beyond this, there are other ways for players who wish to support the project. ChromieCraft operates as a non-profit initiative, and all donations are fully reinvested into the project. This support helps cover infrastructure costs and enables us to financially support contributors who dedicate a significant amount of time to improving the ecosystem. More details, including the available rewards, can be found in the dedicated rewards catalogue. You can also consider supporting us on a regular basis using our subscription system.
Key developments in 2025
2025 marked an important year for ChromieCraft. With the opening of Northrend, the server reached a new level of maturity and saw a sustained increase in player activity, including a new peak of over 1300 players online. Since then, daily activity has remained consistently higher, reflecting the continued engagement of the community as progression moved forward.
Development activity also increased compared to the previous year. In 2025, contribution levels were roughly 10% higher than in 2024, with around 2200 commits recorded on GitHub compared to approximately 2000 the year before. This growth reflects the arrival of new contributors and the ongoing involvement of existing ones, helping to push the project forward in a steady and sustainable way.
During the year, we also renewed our server hosting agreement for an additional two years. This step provides important stability for the project and was made possible thanks to the continued support of our donors.
We are always looking for new contributors
ChromieCraft and the projects around it continue to grow thanks to the people who choose to get involved. We are always happy to welcome new contributors, whether they are developers, testers, triagers, or community members who simply want to help improve the ecosystem. Contributions can take many forms, and even small steps can make a meaningful difference over time.
For those who are curious about getting involved, we do our best to provide guidance and a friendly environment to learn, collaborate, and contribute at your own pace.
Closing Notes
As we look ahead to the coming year, we want to take a moment to thank everyone who has been part of this journey so far.
A very warm thank you goes to all our contributors, who have been working hard and dedicating their own free time to help make this project what it is today. We also want to thank everyone who spent their time playing on the server. Your involvement is what makes ChromieCraft and the surrounding ecosystem possible.
We wish you all a happy new year, and thank you for being part of the ChromieCraft community!
New ChromieCraft logo by Martina Franchetti
All other artworks posted here come from our community. If you want to display your username next to it and claim your ChromiePoints, contact us by opening a ticket on Discord!