Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has issued cease and desist notices to the Project Epoch and Everlook private servers, following a legal battle against the Turtle WoW project. These actions are part of Blizzard’s ongoing efforts to combat the illegal operation of private servers, claiming copyright and trademark infringement.

In late August, Blizzard initiated a lawsuit targeting the Turtle WoW creators, citing their use of the game’s original code and artwork that contributed to their server’s popularity. This legal action aims to safeguard Blizzard’s intellectual property rights. Because of the lawsuit against Turtle WoW, several other private server initiatives, including Mysteries of Azeroth and an Unreal Engine 5 project known as Turtle WoW 2.0, are currently in jeopardy.

Blizzard Sets Sights on Additional Private Servers

Shortly after Blizzard’s lawsuit against Turtle WoW, the company shifted its focus to the Everlook and Project Epoch servers. Reports indicate that Blizzard delivered cease-and-desist orders to both Project Epoch and Everlook, resulting in Everlook announcing an imminent shutdown as of September 22. The server’s creators conveyed to their community via Discord that they were instructed by Blizzard to discontinue their operations swiftly. Essentially, Blizzard accused Everlook of infringing on World of Warcraft copyrights by hosting its services. Project Epoch responded by stating it would halt all activities pertaining to private server usage.

Instead of shutting down entirely, two of Project Epoch’s operations are set to transfer management to Ascension, another private server project, as these initiatives gained popularity by providing a ‘Classic+’ gaming experience, distanced from Blizzard’s regulatory influence.

Since launching its official servers in 2019, Blizzard has undertaken improvements on World of Warcraft Classic, enhancing the user interface and introducing various gameplay modes such as Season of Discovery and Classic Hardcore.

As of now, Ascension has not received communication from Blizzard regarding its World of Warcraft private servers. While Blizzard has numerous options for World of Warcraft Classic experiences, it remains to be seen what actions the company will take next.