‘World of Warcraft Classic’ launches Dire Maul ahead of schedule amidst massive backlash against Blizzard

“World of Warcraft Classic” is preparing to bring in new content for the game, this time adding Dire Maul into the world. The dungeon was supposed to arrive next month but was slotted in early, hitting North American servers today, while the Europeans will likely get the patch tomorrow.

It’s still unclear why the “World of Warcraft Classic” team opted to push Dire Maul ahead of the PvP Honor System, but it could be due to the massive backlash Blizzard received recently. For those who haven’t heard, the company banned and took away the prize of a “Hearthstone” tournament winner after speaking up about the Hong Kong protests.

The “World of Warcraft Classic” community, along with entities operating outside the gaming world, were quick to criticize Blizzard for essentially bowing to China’s influence. Following the massive firestorm, the company deemed its punishment as too severe and reverted its initial decision.

Players turned their backs on World of Warcraft Classic

Unfortunately, the damage has already been done after the news spread like wildfire on the web, with prominent publications picking up the story. The “World of Warcraft Classic” subreddit itself exploded after the news was posted, garnering 86 thousand upvotes and becoming the highest post on the sub.

Some have announced that they’re canceling their subscription, while others took it a step further and purged every Blizzard game on their computers, including the launcher. Even Mark Kern, who was one of the people who spearheaded the creation of “World of Warcraft Classic” and convinced Blizzard to re-launch, quit the game as a form of protest.

World of Warcraft Classic is now in trouble

Kern posted a lengthy thread on Twitter explaining why he was deeply upset with the company’s action, sharing stories about China, and how the country is trying to influence American values by shoving money into the faces of companies. And due to Kern and several other notable individuals within the gaming community voicing their frustrations, “World of Warcraft Classic” and other games under Blizzard’s umbrella has taken some serious damage.

“It’s one thing to keep politics out of games, which I am still a proponent of doing. It’s another to unfairly and harshly punish voices that speak out against corruption, against abuses of human rights, and freedom,” Kern said. So with Dire Maul getting added on “World of Warcraft Classic” ahead of schedule, there are speculations that this may be Blizzard’s way of staving off some of the damage that it received.