Dataminers are combing through the latest public-test-realm build for World of Warcraft Shadowlands’ upcoming patch 9.2, which will see the return of class-based Tier sets for the first time in years. Unfortunately, one of those sets at certain angles looks awfully close to the robes and hood of the white supremacist terrorist organization the KKK.
The upcoming Warlock Tier set for Eternity’s End, which has been the source of the unfavorable comparison, will be changed in an upcoming PTR build and thus won’t make it into the live game, Blizzard has stated on Twitter.
We hear you and agree. This was an oversight where we hadn't yet fully reviewed this set from every angle before putting it into the initial test build. We've already begun work to adjust the set, and you'll see changes to it in a forthcoming build of the Eternity's End PTR. https://t.co/0ZxNgMlSXu
— WarcraftDevs (@WarcraftDevs) November 19, 2021
Given the ongoing lawsuits and investigations related to allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at Activision Blizzard, having a gear set that invokes white supremacy is, obviously, not a good look. The WoW development team has made ongoing efforts in recent months to address older in-game content that could be potentially problematic, doing everything from removing suggestive jokes and artwork to removing certain pieces of dialogue.
Game director Ion Hazzikostas recently said in an interview that it was the WoW team’s duty to ensure the 17-year-old game lives up to modern standards and “that the world we are curating, the world we are caretakers of, remains reflective of our team’s values and our playerbase’s values in 2021 and beyond.”
Other datamined news from WoW’s patch 9.2. includes a spoilerly look at who will become the Arbiter ahead of the expansion’s final raid. Patch 9.2 has been described as the “final chapter” of one book of the Warcraft saga, where players will at long last confront the Jailer and put an end to his scheme to remake all of creation. The patch does not currently have a release date.
Source: Gamespot
