Blizzard Sues Private World Of Warcraft Server Over Copyright Infringement
"Project Ascension also has caused significant and irreparable harm to Blizzard."
First reported by Aftermath, the company has filed a new lawsuit against the creators of Project Ascension, accusing them of copyright infringement, DMCA violations, and other claims, including that its servers are hosted by a Russian company sanctioned for "supporting cybercriminal activity targeting victims in the US and around the world".
Blizzard Entertainment alleges that Project Ascension is "a lucrative way to exploit and profit from the popularity of the WoW game experience," and that it has "distributed (and continues to distribute) millions of pirated copies of Blizzard's copyrighted game software."
"In the two decades since WoW was first released, Blizzard has invested an enormous amount of time and money into creating, maintaining, and updating the game.
But when unscrupulous actors such as Defendants (defined below) seek to profit from Blizzard's valuable intellectual property (including protected code and game assets), they undermine Blizzard's efforts to deliver classic and community-driven content, devalue the WoW experience, and cause serious harm to Blizzard and the many artists, programmers, game designers, and other creative professionals who have worked (and continue to work) tirelessly to create a unique and enjoyable gaming experience for both new and longtime players."
Project Ascension is a "classless game that allows you to imagine and build the character of your dreams." It's free-to-play, but players can purchase in-game currency, Donation Points, which the complaint alleges have made "millions of dollars" for the Project Ascension team. It also requires the "Ascension Client" to be installed, meaning players do not need an active World of Warcraft subscription.
No public statement has been released by Project Ascension so far. Blizzard Entertainment previously successfully sued another popular World of Warcraft private server, Turtle WoW, which shut down this spring.
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