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The World of Warcraft development team has released a statement addressing the issues put forth by California’s discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. The message was shared on the MMO’s official Twitter account and on the game’s official website, signed by “The World of Warcraft team.”
The message recognizes the pain of the women who were allegedly harassed and discriminated against and says that the studio will take time and action for World of Warcraft to get to a better place. The message also states that “we also want to take immediate action in Azeroth to remove references that are not appropriate for our world.”
While it is not directly stated what references are being removed from both World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft Classic it seems likely that the team will be removing references to former director Alex Afrasiabi, who was named in the lawsuit. Afrasiabi–who quietly left the company in summer 2020–allegedly would frequently hit on women at the company, attempt to kiss them, and throw his arms around their necks.
Afrasiabi appears as an NPC in the game named Field Marshal Afrasiabi, something players have been demanding to be removed since the lawsuit became public. The Field Marshal can be found in the Alliance capital city of Stormwind, and Lord Afrasastrasz, a second NPC named after him, can be found in Wrymwrest Temple in Northrend. The message from the World of Warcraft team stated that players will be seeing “several such changes to both Shadowlands and WoW Classic in the coming days.”
This message from the World of Warcraft team comes after employees of Activision Blizzard have said they will be holding a walkout on Wednesday, protesting the publisher’s “abhorrent and insulting” response to the lawsuit.
You can read the statement from the World of Warcraft team below:
A message from the World of Warcraft team
It was clear from our team conversations that we wanted to put forth a statement that was representative of the World of Warcraft team’s sentiments. We asked all members of our team to send us their suggestions and feedback on how best to address the community and this is the result.
The past days have been a time of reflection for the World of Warcraft team, spent in conversation and contemplation, full of sadness, pain, and anger, but also hope and resolve. As we heed the brave women who have come forward to share their experiences, we stand committed to taking the actions necessary to ensure we are providing an inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment both for our team and for our players in Azeroth. Those of us in leadership understand that it is not our place to judge when we have achieved our goals, but rather for our team and our community to let us know when we still have more to do.
While we turn to our team for guidance in our internal work to protect marginalized groups and hold accountable those who threaten them, we also want to take immediate action in Azeroth to remove references that are not appropriate for our world. This work has been underway, and you will be seeing several such changes to both Shadowlands and WoW Classic in the coming days.
We know that in order to rebuild trust, we must earn it with our actions in the weeks and months to come. But we go forward knowing that we share the same vision as our community about creating a place where people of all genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and backgrounds can thrive and proudly call home.
–The World of Warcraft Team
