World of Warcraft private servers have technically existed since the start of Blizzard’s MMO, and they’ve become a great way to play the game. These optional fan servers offer different builds of the game, more exploration-themed experiences and other options away from the hustle and bustle of the main community.
As you’d expect, World of Warcraft studio Blizzard is not entirely keen on the idea of private servers with the studio pushing cease and desists against many popular options for years now. Just recently, Blizzard struck again, filing a complaint against the popular Turtle WoW server.
In the complaint, which can be found here, Blizzard claimed that the Turtle WoW team has “built an entire business on large scale, egregious, and ongoing infringement of Blizzard’s intellectual property”, claiming the option “drive[s] away otherwise dedicated WoW players” from the base game.
Turtle WoW is an alternate way to play Blizzard’s popular MMO and doesn’t have the same gameplay options as current WoW or even the now-official WoW Classic. Instead, the private server is based on a version of World of Warcraft from 2006, but adds new zones, races and content to play through.
In the lawsuit, Blizzard argues that the private servers “introduce security risks to players, fragment the WoW player community, and create confusion as to what are official, supported versions of WoW”. The lawsuit also complains that the existance of private servers such as Turtle WoW encourages players and facilitates “video game piracy by allowing players to avoid paying for the game experience that Blizzard has invested so much time and money to create.”
Via PC Gamer, the team behind Turtle WoW is planning to challenge the lawsuit. Team member Torta told fans on the server’s Discord that the private server “is here to stay”, despite the legal action from Blizzard.
“Challenges come to us often, and each time we are prepared to face them. We remain fully committed to delivering the Turtle WoW experience that you’ve come to love over the years,” Torta told followers.
Turtle WoW has been extremely popular since its release in 2018 with the private server managing to hit a peak of 70,000 concurrent players. Recently, the server has been teasing an engine shift to Unreal Engine 5, and recently saw over 11,000 players enjoying the launch of its new realm, Ambershire, concurrently.
However, there are sticking points with the private server that could prove problematic during a lawsuit. While the game is free to play, Turtle WoW has an in-game shop where players can donate to the development team to buy in-game items with premium currency.
Additionally, Turtle WoW has not been quiet since its release in 2018. Alongside the World of Warcraft server’s huge player count, the server was also heavily advertised in YouTube videos and social media posts.
