WoW players urge Blizzard to combat toxicity instead of censoring game content
Blizzard EntertainmentBlizzard’s ongoing censorship of seemingly inappropriate World of Warcraft content in response to the lawsuit against the company is overshadowing what some players really want… An end to toxicity in WoW.
In the wake of the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for fostering a “pervasive frat boy culture” within the workplace, the company has actively set about removing explicit content from their games.
Overwatch will see the hero formerly known as Jesse McCree receive a new name in future updates, while Diablo 2 Resurrected also saw the gladiator-esque Amazon’s exotic beauty erased to a point where fans claimed she looked like legendary actor Willem Defoe.
World of Warcraft has also had heavily sexualized images toned down, but a lot of WoW fans aren’t interested in the removal of offensive in-game content: they’d rather Blizzard actively dealt with the ongoing toxicity issues instead.
Blizzard EntertainmentWoW fans want toxicity combatted
Please be aware that this article contains a discussion regarding suicide and mental health issues.
While Blizzard has expressed at the upcoming WoW Shadowlands update, Patch 9.1.5, will look to clamp down on rulebreakers and bad behaviour, a large section of the game’s community want the issue solved now.
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“Blizzard should do something about toxic player behavior instead of censoring paintings and turning them into fruit bowls,” writes one Reddit user, referring to the decision to change an in-game artwork of a semi-clad woman into a collection of pears. “Being told to kill myself over a mistake or a petty disagreement is not okay at all.”
They go on to slam the devs for “censoring /spit and some half-naked portraits… but not punishing players for this awful s**t.”
Ultimately, they conclude that even posting about the issue ended with their Reddit DMs being flooded with messages telling them to take their own life, proving that “this is a real problem.”
A whole host of players have jumped in to support the original poster. One writes: “Prioritize the game and the community over profit and you’ll see a huge difference in the quality of player.”
“It has nothing to do with banning 100% of toxic players,” another states. “It has everything to do with setting rules and f**king enforcing them.”
Hopefully Patch 9.1.5 will bring the ban hammer down on those who are choosing to insult and abuse others, however only time will tell what punishment will be introduced for toxic players. Either way, it’s clear players want a new punishment system implemented soon.
If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, or know anyone that is, and you would like to talk to someone, please reach out and call the Suicide Prevention Helpline 1-800-273-8255 (USA), the Samaritans 116-123 (UK), or Lifeline 13-11-14 (AUS).