Blizzard files lawsuit against fan-run World of Warcraft servers Turtle WoW

World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the owners of Turtle WoW, a network of fan-operated private servers that host alternative versions of the MMORPG. The lawsuit alleges that the group makes illegal use of Blizzard's code, assets, and trademarks, and claims that "Turtle WoW's unauthorized servers harm the player experience in several ways," including fragmenting the community, creating confusion, and introducing potential security risks to users.

Turtle WoW, which began life in 2018, offers a range of ways for people to play the MMORPG through a free client. It does not charge for access, but does accept donations via its website. Its servers include various mods and custom content; the most recent, Mysteries of Azeroth, is described as "a fan-made expansion story for World of Warcraft Vanilla that delves deeper into exploring the original lore of the game." The creators have also teased an upcoming project called Turtle WoW 2.0, described as "the Vanilla WoW client fully replicated in Unreal Engine 5."

Blizzard's complaint, filed to the District Court for the Central District of California on Friday August 29, explains that it has "invested an enormous amount of time and money into creating, maintaining, and updating" World of Warcraft. It then claims that the defendants in this case "have built an entire business on large-scale, egregious, and ongoing infringement of Blizzard's intellectual property."

The lawsuit also claims, "Through Turtle WoW, defendants have found a lucrative way to exploit and profit from the popularity of the WoW game experience. Specifically, Turtle WoW purports to offer to the public paid access to a group of unauthorized, 'emulated' private WoW game servers, as well as all of the software and other tools necessary to access and use these emulated servers, including pirated copies of WoW that have been specially modified to work with its unauthorized servers."

While Turtle WoW is not the only instance of a privately run World of Warcraft server, it's one of the most notable. Blizzard's complaint further alleges, "Recently, Turtle WoW has been brazenly escalating its efforts to cannibalize and disrupt Blizzard's WoW player community by, for example, increasing its social media presence, partnering with videogame influencers, and actively promoting a new version of its infringing game, 'Turtle WoW 2.0.'"

Responding to a request for comment, a Blizzard spokesperson tells PCGamesN, "Our games are built on decades of innovation and creativity, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the integrity of that work for our employees, our partners, and our players. This pirate server illegally uses our code, assets, and trademarks to market an unprotected experience. Given the scale and nature of the infringement we need to pursue formal remedies to protect the world we've built."

With World of Warcraft Midnight on the horizon, we've rounded up the best WoW addons if you're jumping back into Azeroth. Alternatively, take a look through the best new MMOs in 2025.

Where are you hoping Midnight's story takes us? Discuss the latest happenings in World of Warcraft in the PCGamesN community Discord server, where you'll find thousands of fellow readers.