{"id":1594294,"date":"2026-06-01T11:38:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/HedJdiRuguhjQUcJLofJHT"},"modified":"2026-06-01T11:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T11:38:29","slug":"after-being-shut-down-by-blizzard-one-of-wows-biggest-private-servers-is-saying-screw-it-well-make-our-own-mmo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/after-being-shut-down-by-blizzard-one-of-wows-biggest-private-servers-is-saying-screw-it-well-make-our-own-mmo\/","title":{"rendered":"After being shut down by Blizzard, one of WoW’s biggest private servers is saying screw it, we’ll make our own MMO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The saga of TurtleWoW was perhaps inevitable\u2014operating pretty brazenly under the nose of Blizzard, the World of Warcraft<\/a> private server featured bespoke content for its own vision of the game, and advertised itself as an actual game might. <\/p>\n

It also featured in-game microtransactions, and while some private servers for other MMOs (like City of Heroes<\/a>) have received official permission from the developers to keep operating, they’ve usually done so via years of muddling by on strictly-documented donations that only cover server costs. <\/p>\n

In other words\u2014regardless how neat the work of TurtleWoW’s developers was? Legally-speaking, that’s cruisin’ for a bruisin’. In October of 2025, Blizzard filed a lawsuit<\/a> against TurtleWoW, and while the team behind it put on a brave face<\/a>, it didn’t matter. Come April 2026, TurtleWoW was given a cease & desist<\/a> and announced its closure<\/a> several days later.<\/p>\n

Well, as per the TurtleWoW (now Moonwhisper Games<\/a>) Discord, its developers have said they’ll make their own MMO: “This isn’t the end of our journey together, but rather the beginning of a new one! We’ll be transitioning the team into a game development studio Moonwhisper Games.<\/p>\n

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The Moonwhisper Games Discord<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Moonwhisper Games Discord<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

“… We’ve decided to begin work on our own MMO! We know this is an enormous undertaking. MMOs are among the most ambitious and demanding projects in game development, and we’re under no illusion that this is something that can be built quickly or easily.”<\/p>\n

However, as the team points out, it’s also sort of been getting in a lot of practice with TurtleWoW itself\u2014regardless of whether the server was playing stupid games and getting stupid prizes, the amount of work put into its extra content was commendable. We’re talking new zones, classes, dungeons, the works.<\/p>\n

“At the same time, we’re not starting from scratch completely. We have spent years building MMO experiences, managing communities, creating content, and learning both the strengths and shortcomings of the genre. We know how challenging this road will be, but we also know it’s a challenge worth taking on.”<\/p>\n

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