Blizzard Files Lawsuit Against Creators of Fan-Made Turtle World of Warcraft Servers

Blizzard Entertainment has officially filed a lawsuit against the creators of Turtle WoW, a fan-made World of Warcraft server that recently hit 44,000 concurrent players, alleging widespread copyright infringement.

The complaint, filed on Aug 29, 2025, in the US District Court for the Central District of California, accuses the operators of Turtle WoW of illegally using the company’s code, art, and trademarks to power and promote their servers.

The company argues that the project “harms the player experience” by fragmenting the community, creating confusion, and introducing potential security risks.

Turtle WoW launched in 2018 and quickly built a following by offering alternative ways to experience World of Warcraft MMORPG through a free client. While the servers do not charge players for access, donations are accepted via the project’s website. Beyond recreating classic WoW gameplay, Turtle WoW also develops custom content, including Mysteries of Azeroth, a fan-made expansion that expands on the original lore, and an ambitious upcoming project, Turtle WoW 2.0, which aims to rebuild the Vanilla WoW client in Unreal Engine 5.

Blizzard alleges that the operation goes far beyond hobbyist modding. The lawsuit claims the group offers “paid access” to unauthorized emulated servers, distributes pirated copies of WoW, and has “escalated its efforts” by promoting the project through influencer partnerships and social media campaigns.

Private WoW servers have existed in various forms since the mid-2000s, but Turtle WoW stands out for its size and visibility. Blizzard has previously taken action against such projects, but this case arrives just months ahead of the launch of World of Warcraft: Midnight, the MMO’s next major expansion set for release in 2026.