Fans Furious As Blizzard Shut Down Popular Vanilla WoW Server

You know World of Warcraft, right? That game was a pretty huge deal for an awful lot of people. Unfortunately, many fans reckon the game has gone a little stale over the years, thanks to expansions that fundamentally changed what everyone loved about the game. 

So when Blizzard announced that they were shutting down a fan made server called Nostalrius that let people play the game as it was back in 2004 (ie, when people really adored the game) the fans weren’t best pleased.

Now, I understand how copyright law works, and Blizzard are clearly within their rights to do what they’ve done. Even so, this is a move that has genuinely upset a huge number of devoted fans who wanted a chance to play World of Warcraft as they remembered it.

Here are a few Tweets that seem to sum up how the fans feel.

And as you can see, a fair few fans came to say goodbye before the server was shutdown yesterday (April 10).

I should also point out that fans have made it known to Blizzard that they would pay for a server that let them enjoy Vanilla World of Warcraft, but Blizzard have essentially told the fans several times that they don’t know what they want. Dick move.

YouTuber JonTron explains the situation brilliantly. If you aren’t really aware what’s happened and why it’s a bad thing, (assuming you care) this video is a good place to start.

And finally, a special shout out to boogie2988 and his alter-ego Francis for abandoning all pretence and going full rage.

It’s a genuine shame to see something so many people enjoyed go down in flames. Hopefully Blizzard can learn from the fan reaction here.

There is a clear demand for a Vanilla server, and if Blizzard aren’t willing to let someone else make it (which again, they have every right to do), then they should really get one sorted themselves.