Blizzard Entertainment has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the operators of Turtle WoW, one of the largest fan-run World of Warcraft private servers. The lawsuit, filed on August 29, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims the server uses Blizzard’s code, artwork, and trademarks without permission.
Turtle WoW has grown significantly since launching in 2018. The server recently reached a peak of over 44,000 concurrent players in August 2025, making it one of the most popular unofficial World of Warcraft experiences available.
“Our games are built on decades of innovation and creativity, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect the integrity of that work for our employees, our partners, and our players,” a Blizzard spokesperson said in a statement. “This pirate server illegally uses our code, assets, and trademarks to market an unprotected experience. Given the scale and nature of the infringement we need to pursue formal remedies to protect the world we’ve built.”
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The lawsuit targets not just the current Turtle WoW servers but also their ambitious plans for the future. The operators recently announced “Turtle WoW 2.0,” a project that aims to rebuild the game client using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5, promising improved visuals while maintaining compatibility with an older “Legacy” version.
Turtle WoW offers a modified version of the original “Vanilla” World of Warcraft, including custom content like “Mysteries of Azeroth,” which they describe as a “fan-made expansion story that delves deeper into exploring the original lore of the game.” Players can access the server for free, though the operators accept donations.
Blizzard’s complaint alleges the defendants “have built an entire business on large-scale, egregious, and ongoing infringement of Blizzard’s intellectual property” and claims they have “found a lucrative way to exploit and profit from the popularity of the WoW game experience.” The lawsuit further alleges Turtle WoW has been “brazenly escalating its efforts” by increasing its social media presence and partnering with video game influencers.
The company is seeking several remedies, including a permanent shutdown of Turtle WoW, transfer of the domain to Blizzard, turnover of all project data, an accounting of profits, and statutory damages.
This legal action comes at a time when Blizzard offers its own official World of Warcraft Classic experience, which launched in 2019 and provides access to the original game for players with an active subscription. Blizzard has since updated Classic with original expansions, including The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and most recently, Mists of Pandaria.
While the operators of Turtle WoW have not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit filing, reports indicate they’ve told players on their Discord server that the game is “going nowhere” and that the team is “prepared to face” the legal challenges ahead.
This isn’t the only recent legal action against unofficial game servers. Earlier this summer, Daybreak filed a similar lawsuit targeting operators of EverQuest emulators.