I also think that there are more players, at least more new or returning players. I have been checking the UO forum on Reddit over the last years, and ever since Endless Journey, the number of questions related to the official shards has overtaken the ones from free shards. It used to be the main forum of the UO free shard community in the past, but that is no longer the case. The other question that remains is: how many returning or new players are actually staying, and how much real cash are they contributing to Origin to keep the lights on? Sorry for digressing, but in any case, especially over the last 2 years since EJ launched, there is a massive influx of returning and new players.