Do you think they'll go too far?

[Lahis]

most of the stuff they have removed in the past is just minor npcs most people don't even know exist.

afaik none of the major NPCs are ever so directly/obviously linked to blizz personnel so they probably can't go to far there.

the only really awkward situation i can thing of is if chris metzen got implicated, can't just remove thrall. if such a situation came up, i think they'd leave it in the game unless pressure on them really really mounted.

but as i said, outside chris metzen, is there even a person thats tied to a major NPC?

They can't remove Thrall's past appearances, but I'm sure he would get pretty quickly disenchanted from any future storyline.

[Katchii]

They can't remove Thrall's past appearances, but I'm sure he would get pretty quickly disenchanted from any future storyline.

Why would they remove him as a character rather than just replace his voice actor like they did with Kael'thas?

[Eapoe]

None of that has ever been in game. It was 12+, for fuck's sake.

There has been blood and gore (pretty sure there are enemies that explode on death and have left blood mounds on the ground). Just look up Corpse Explosion for more emphasis.
Sexual themes is in the game in the form of bikini armor models, as well as the joke pocket romance novels that can be found. As well as written with inscription.
Language hasn’t really been in the game except the notorious “bitch” line from Garrosh to Sylvanas. Which happens to have been censored out.
War? Conflict? Literally a central theme to the game.
Hatred and vengenance? Got that covered with Tyrande, Sylvanas, and Illidan in most recent years.
Massacre? Slaughter? Guess I should bring up the burning of Teldrassil and the slaughter of Night Elf innocents. Going back a decade of lore we could also bring up the Camp Terajo massacre.
Now, I’m not saying I agree with who you quoted as I don’t think Blizzard will go that overboard; however, the themes they mentioned are/have been in the game.

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Why would they remove him as a character rather than just replace his voice actor like they did with Kael'thas?

Pretty much this. They won’t remove the character, just the voice actor. Only way they would remove him as a character is to find something where he represents something bad. Like what happened with Pepe le Pew.

[Lahis]

Why would they remove him as a character rather than just replace his voice actor like they did with Kael'thas?

Thrall is Metzen's self insert and everybody knows that.

[Katchii]

Thrall is Metzen's self insert and everybody knows that.

And a major lore character deeply embedded within the lore of the game, there's absolutely no way they'll just remove him...unless they kill him off I guess.

[Daronokk]

They're not about to change the entire game—even if they could—for this.

<snip>

Frankly if they discontinued the use of insider references completely it wouldn't hurt the game at all, might make it better.

They would have to completely rewrite Cataclysm though. That was just a gigantic joke fest while questing.

[Lahis]

And a major lore character deeply embedded within the lore of the game, there's absolutely no way they'll just remove him...unless they kill him off I guess.

That's what I meant by disenchanting.

That's what happened to Metzen's other major voice role.

[LunchBoxOC]

I think they've already gone too far

[NihilSustinet]

It's a very vague statement so we'll have to wait and see.

At best, it's just the Afrasiabi stuff. At worst, all female characters are now forced to wear burqas at all times

this is such an odd, completely out of touch with reality thing to say.

[XDurionX]

There has been blood and gore (pretty sure there are enemies that explode on death and have left blood mounds on the ground). Just look up Corpse Explosion for more emphasis.
Sexual themes is in the game in the form of bikini armor models, as well as the joke pocket romance novels that can be found. As well as written with inscription.
Language hasn’t really been in the game except the notorious “bitch” line from Garrosh to Sylvanas. Which happens to have been censored out.
War? Conflict? Literally a central theme to the game.
Hatred and vengenance? Got that covered with Tyrande, Sylvanas, and Illidan in most recent years.
Massacre? Slaughter? Guess I should bring up the burning of Teldrassil and the slaughter of Night Elf innocents. Going back a decade of lore we could also bring up the Camp Terajo massacre.
Now, I’m not saying I agree with who you quoted as I don’t think Blizzard will go that overboard; however, the themes they mentioned are/have been in the game.

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Pretty much this. They won’t remove the character, just the voice actor. Only way they would remove him as a character is to find something where he represents something bad. Like what happened with Pepe le Pew.

Sure there's cartoon violence, that's still a far cry from "hate and gore". The game has always been for teens and has never had any mature themes whatsoever. If you think that is what made wow great i don't know what to say.

[username993720]

None of that has ever been in game. It was 12+, for fuck's sake.

That's the problem.
And it did have all of these. Subtle, maybe, but present.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Watching the usual suspects losing their minds over what they THINK is going to happen is hella fucking entertaining. Quaking in their boots over perceived evils out to get them...

Removal of references to Afrasiabi is about as worthy of outrage as a grain of sand.

[Katchii]

That's what I meant by disenchanting.

That's what happened to Metzen's other major voice role.

Ah, didn't understand the "disenchanting" reference. Now I get it.

[uuuhname]

this is such an odd, completely out of touch with reality thing to say.

lol man they really need to keep the fear mongering over a foreign culture influencing the game to China, seeing as that is the only country where they "censor" the game.

[Blackmist]

As if what's in game is what everyone is bothered about...

[Chilela]

Blood, Gore, Sexual Themes, Foul Language, War, Conflicts, Hatred, Vengeance, Massacre, Slaughter, Battles, Threats - basically, everything that made the game epic.

It will be replaced with children appropriate content like love, friendship, happiness, sweetness and tenderness, acceptance, cooperation and supportiveness. Basically, it will become a replica of Barnie or the Carebears.

It started with the removal of the word "Bitch" from Garrosh in BfA, and continued by his removal from the game entirely.

Next thing we know, we'll be surrounded by positive-only characters with no tension, bad feelings or animosity between them.

Sounds great, huh?

Just look at how the chinese version censored bones because it's too offensive for them.

I'm pretty sure the censorship in the Chinese version is at the behest of the CCP, rather than due to the outrage of a minority of people, as is the case with our version.

OT: Given that Blizz is no stranger to removing/changing "problematic" content from their games. Ji Firepaw's dialog, Garrosh's BITCH line, and the recent Afrasiabi scrubbing all come to mind, and I'm fairly sure Millhouse's thinly-veiled prison rape line in Stonecore is long-gone. I wouldn't be surprised if that trend starts to accelerate here. I could see the recurring gag in Cata quests of male Blood Elves being mistaken for female Blood Elves being altered due to alleged homophobia/transphobia. I could see the BT harem being replaced with some other thematic "mortal desire", though that's a bit of a longer-term fix. Could also see any remaining "suggestive" wounded sound effects being re-recorded (I remember Paletress being a huge culprit of this, but I haven't done that fight in years, so IDK if that was ever changed).

Given his opinions not lining up with the current Blizz orthodoxy, I'm actually mildly surprised that the Mark of Kern item's name is still intact.

[Kevyne-Shandris]

This thread is also starting to derail - let's focus on the aspect of what may be changed and/or removed from WoW and not ringing in real-world or identity politics and outright forbidden topics.

Oh, put in the warning NOW after all the "SJW feminist" "slurs", so anyone who posts LATER gets "infractions". It allows that content to stay without losing points.

AH! That's how it works!

[Thage]

"In-game Changes. We have heard the input from employee and player communities that some of our in-game content is inappropriate. We are removing that content."

Aside from everything else going on, which has no direct relation to the content of World of Warcraft itself, this is concerning to me. What content in game is inappropriate and needs to be removed?

Edit: I should have done a little more reading. The statement in the blue post was vague but I agree with Afrasiabi being removed from game. I only hope it ends there and we don't have some sort of transformation of the game at the behest of potential bad actors.

Wowpedia had tweeted Blizzard's twitter with a screenshot from their page on Alex Afrasiabi, including all items referring to him as well as NPCs. Expect, at the very least, for Kariel, Field Marshal Afrasiabi, and Fras Siabi (as well as his cigar shop and all references therein) to be renamed, replaced, or removed, as well as most items referring to Afrasiabi to be renamed both in retail and Classic. Going forward, I would also expect to see much more stringent limitations on 'insider reference' NPCs unless they're in out of the way spots like that one burning tower with all the NPCs named after devs' families.

[Eapoe]

Sure there's cartoon violence, that's still a far cry from "hate and gore". The game has always been for teens and has never had any mature themes whatsoever. If you think that is what made wow great i don't know what to say.

I never said that’s what makes WoW great. I simply pointed out that, cartoon violence or not, it is still in there.
As stated, simply look up “World of Warcraft Corpse Explosion” for a reference to in game gore. It’s literally a mound of flesh and blood with bones sticking out of it. There’s Aboms with their guts hanging out. The game contains gore.
Teen marketed games and movies still have adult references and situations in them from time to time. PG-13 movies (those that can be viewed by teens) can still contain sex references, certain amounts of foul language, drug usage, crude humor, and more.
You state the game has never had mature themes. I’ve pointed out that WoW has the joke based “Steamy Romance Novels.” Mature themes could also be the simple inclusion of excessive violence. Seems to me that’s covered by the fact that we got a cinematic of Sylvanas taunting a dying NE before burning alive innocent civilians. That would be a pretty mature theme, wouldn’t you agree?
Mature content can also include excessive violence. Going back to my previous example of Corpse Explosion. You don’t think a character killing an enemy and then exploding their corpse to leave behind a mound of blood and bones is excessive?
As stated previously, I don’t believe Blizzard would go overboard with censorship/removal of these things. That said, these things have been in the game and I’ve given clear examples that they are. Just because something is okay for teens doesn’t mean it is absent of these themes and elements.

[Thage]

They would have to completely rewrite Cataclysm though. That was just a gigantic joke fest while questing.

Bold take but maybe a second Azeroth revamp wouldn't be out of place after the dust settles from the lawsuit. Get rid of the rot, bring in new blood, and A Realm Reborn-style major updates to Azeroth, using the same 'evergreen storyline' policy from Exile's Reach so it can slot relatively reliably at any point in the story going forward.