Recent changes to World Of Warcraft are part of “building an inclusive and welcoming world”

World of Warcraft patch 9.1.5 is currently being tested in the game’s public test domain, and each new test release brings more changes to older game content that could be considered inappropriate or offensive. Now, Blizzard is offering a look at why these changes are being made and what fans can expect in the future.

In a new blog post titled “The Evolution of Creative Content in World of Warcraft,” the WoW development team says the changes are part of a goal of “building an inclusive and welcoming game world.”

“In a game that has thousands of artistic elements and a word count in the millions, we recognize that these updates will represent very little total change overall,” the blog post read. “Nonetheless, we believe these changes are worth it. World of Warcraft is destined to evolve over time, and every day new players from all walks of life and all corners of the world experience our in-game content for the first time. times. As a team, we want the world they see to be an expression of our talent and our principles. “

Recent changes described in the PTR include the removal or modification of coarse or suggestive emotes, name changes for certain items and NPCs, removal of in-game references to former employees, renamed achievements, and more.

“Goofy jokes and the occasional mature innuendo are a part of WoW, and probably always will be,” the blog continues. “Nonetheless, we want to keep in mind whether there are elements of this world that are welcoming to all players. In short, we want our jokes to be inclusive and not aggressive.”

Blizzard goes on to say that they have no plans to make any changes to player appearance or cosmetics, saying they want players to be able to express themselves. Describing the additional changes that will come after patch 9.1.5, Blizzard says it will create an Incubus Demon that can be added to parts of the game to replace the scantily clad Succubus Demon model. Warlock players will have the option of summoning either the Succubus or the Incubus via the in-game glyph system.

The changes all come as a result of multiple lawsuits, investigations and allegations of widespread harassment and discrimination against women at Activision Blizzard. The allegations saw many Blizzard veterans leave the company, including former Blizzard chairman J. Allen Brack.

Blizzard recently announced WoW Classic Season of Mastery, which will add seasonal servers to the older version of the MMO as well as balance changes.