Blizzard to Shut Down Fan-Run Vanilla WoW Server

Since 2015, a small but dedicated group of World of Warcraft fans have been running a secret, private server called Nostalrius. Now, normally, running your own private server isn’t allowed by Blizzard, but Nostalrius was something else, something… special. It was a server that was perpetually running the game at version 1.12, otherwise known as the last patch before the first expansion, The Burning Crusades, came out. It was, basically, “Authentic, Vanilla WoW”, for people who were feeling nostalgic for the good ol’ days.

Blizzard has tolerated it for a year now, but it seems their patience for these rogue players is finally at an end, and both branches of the company in France and in the United States have officially filed lawsuits to shut the server down. They have until April 10th to comply.

Fans, of course, aren’t exactly thrilled about this, and in response to the shutdown have issued a petition to Blizzard, which will likely be ignored but we can still take a look at it.

“We never saw our community as a threat for Blizzard. It sounds more like a transverse place where players can continue to enjoy old World of Warcraft's games no longer available, maybe until a new expansion appears; a huge and powerful community of fans that remains attached to future Blizzard games, as we have in no other gaming company… Nevertheless, the time spent helping people in this kind of context will be part of our memories forever, every team member also certainly acquired a unique experience that will be valuable in its future life.Thank you for providing so much entertainment to everyone all around the world, Thank you for creating this ageless game that we can still enjoy 10 years after.”

Classy. As. Balls.

Unfortunately, Blizzard has yet to comment on the matter of the shutdown, either to the players affected or to the press, so their motive behind this move… either just because they feel it robs them of subscribers or just because they’re throwing around their legal clout… can only be guessed at. Still, after reading that heartfelt petition, I can’t help but root for the ol’ Nostalrius team. I hope your kind, good-natured words reach the better ears over at Blizzard!