Yet another World of Warcraft private server taken out as Blizzard cracks down on Classic competitors
World of Warcraft private servers are slowly dwindling in numbers as Blizzard continues to pressure them with cease-and-desist letters. Stormforge is the latest case and will shut down on May 14, with new account creation already disabled. This was confirmed by Stormforge operators last night in a post on the server's website, which claimed that Blizzard sent them a cease-and-desist letter, prompting a discussion and the eventual decision to shut the whole thing down. "We have agreed to cease all operations, development, and distribution of content related to World of Warcraft," Stormforge operators said, adding that the private server will be going offline on May 14 but is to remain playable up to that point. New accounts cannot be created nor will any updates be released. The website and the Stormforge Discord server are also going to be shut down, and, though this is all unfortunate news, the team has kindly asked everyone not to hop on the hate train or conduct any activity that would potentially harm Stormforge or its community in these last few weeks it has left. "Let’s keep the atmosphere positive and make these last moments something we can all remember in a good way." Image via Blizzard Blizzard seems to have given the team a bit of a grace period to "transition" its community away from the private server, with operators saying they had a "positive discussion" with the company prior to making the decision to take Stormforge offline. Either way, yet another private server, one that apparently had hundreds of thousands of players, is no longer going to be available for those seeking alternative ways to play Blizzard's biggest MMO. Stormforge offered free-to-play World of Warcraft clients for three versions: The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Mists of Pandaria. Two out of these are currently available through WoW Classic servers, though the Mists of Pandaria one will most likely progress to Warlords of Draenor Classic at some point, rendering it unplayable. TBC currently only has an anniversary server running, whereas Wrath of the Lich King Classic is no longer available since it progressed to the mentioned MoP. Though piracy in essence and a system that offered paid services to its players, Stormforge allowed folks to return to their desired stage in WoW's decades-long lifespan, enjoying those aspects of the game they adored the most. While World of Warcraft Classic and its many modes and servers are a gateway to exactly that, Blizzard's strange way of handling things hasn't helped in the slightest. In an effort to keep player populations as united as possible, folks don't have too many options to choose from when it comes to older WoW experiences, forcing them into the wide open arms of private servers. At any rate, World of Warcraft would probably also curb a lot of private server needs if it ditched the subscription model entirely, though I know that's almost impossible at this point. Private servers' free offers are very enticing for those who do not have the dosh to pay every month on top of buying the latest expansion every time. I find it saddening every time I see private servers go down, as those were my own first exposure to World of Warcraft as a less-than-well-off kid back in the late 2000s and early 2010s. It transformed my perspectives on Warcraft as a world, which stands to this day as one of my favorite settings of all time. I can still remember watching my brother play Wrath of the Lich King and standing next to the man himself, who I could only watch from a bird's-eye perspective in Warcraft 3 up to that point. There are kids going through the same, and it'd be a crying shame to deny them the ability to experience one of the greatest fantasy worlds of all time from up close. But that's just me. The post Yet another World of Warcraft private server taken out as Blizzard cracks down on Classic competitors appeared first on Destructoid.
World of Warcraft private servers are slowly dwindling in numbers as Blizzard continues to pressure them with cease-and-desist letters. Stormforge is the latest case and will shut down on May 14, with new account creation already disabled.
This was confirmed by Stormforge operators last night in a post on the server's website, which claimed that Blizzard sent them a cease-and-desist letter, prompting a discussion and the eventual decision to shut the whole thing down. "We have agreed to cease all operations, development, and distribution of content related to World of Warcraft," Stormforge operators said, adding that the private server will be going offline on May 14 but is to remain playable up to that point.
New accounts cannot be created nor will any updates be released.
The website and the Stormforge Discord server are also going to be shut down, and, though this is all unfortunate news, the team has kindly asked everyone not to hop on the hate train or conduct any activity that would potentially harm Stormforge or its community in these last few weeks it has left. "Let’s keep the atmosphere positive and make these last moments something we can all remember in a good way."
Image via Blizzard Blizzard seems to have given the team a bit of a grace period to "transition" its community away from the private server, with operators saying they had a "positive discussion" with the company prior to making the decision to take Stormforge offline. Either way, yet another private server, one that apparently had hundreds of thousands of players, is no longer going to be available for those seeking alternative ways to play Blizzard's biggest MMO. Stormforge offered free-to-play World of Warcraft clients for three versions: The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and Mists of Pandaria. Two out of these are currently available through WoW Classic servers, though the Mists of Pandaria one will most likely progress to Warlords of Draenor Classic at some point, rendering it unplayable. TBC currently only has an anniversary server running, whereas Wrath of the Lich King Classic is no longer available since it progressed to the mentioned MoP.
Though piracy in essence and a system that offered paid services to its players, Stormforge allowed folks to return to their desired stage in WoW's decades-long lifespan, enjoying those aspects of the game they adored the most. While World of Warcraft Classic and its many modes and servers are a gateway to exactly that, Blizzard's strange way of handling things hasn't helped in the slightest. In an effort to keep player populations as united as possible, folks don't have too many options to choose from when it comes to older WoW experiences, forcing them into the wide open arms of private servers.
At any rate, World of Warcraft would probably also curb a lot of private server needs if it ditched the subscription model entirely, though I know that's almost impossible at this point. Private servers' free offers are very enticing for those who do not have the dosh to pay every month on top of buying the latest expansion every time.
I find it saddening every time I see private servers go down, as those were my own first exposure to World of Warcraft as a less-than-well-off kid back in the late 2000s and early 2010s. It transformed my perspectives on Warcraft as a world, which stands to this day as one of my favorite settings of all time. I can still remember watching my brother play Wrath of the Lich King and standing next to the man himself, who I could only watch from a bird's-eye perspective in Warcraft 3 up to that point.
There are kids going through the same, and it'd be a crying shame to deny them the ability to experience one of the greatest fantasy worlds of all time from up close.
But that's just me.
The post Yet another World of Warcraft private server taken out as Blizzard cracks down on Classic competitors appeared first on Destructoid.
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