EMPE

Veteran, retired signals intelligence analyst, Dad, and I play WoW. Stan of western civilization.

[EMPE @Shadoweaving]

This fight seems easy. 32 pulls in all pug raids, where people miss raid CDs.

[Melissa @MyUnveiledTruth]

My book about the Ottoman Empire’s enslavement of little Christian girls, who were forcibly kidnapped from Europe, will be published this year. Did you know they forced these kids to walk for weeks at a time from Europe to their destination, with a large wooden board (or planks) with a hole for the neck that was locked around the person’s neck and often their hands as well. The journey was brutal and many died on the way.

[Hillel Neuer @HillelNeuer]

Which U.N. officials are taking money from Qatar, China, and Russia?

On Tuesday we are releasing a 100-page exposé.

Stay tuned.

[EMPE @Shadoweaving]

Rarely talk to people in Wow anymore. Compliments once a year is worth it.

[Olga Bazova @OlgaBazova]

All the current conflicts, in a nutshell.

[EMPE @Shadoweaving]

Brutal.

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

I am a senior vice president at a $68.7 billion gaming company.

Activision-Blizzard.

We have a 30-year-old franchise.

Warcraft.

Millions of players. A subscription model that prints $15 a month per user. A cash shop on top of the subscription. Paid expansions on top of the cash shop.

Our former creative director just told the press he wishes we hadn't called it "Warcraft."

He said the name sounds intimidating.

He helped create the name.

We ran focus groups. The focus groups said the brand needed to be "more approachable." We asked the focus groups if they played the game. They did not. We took their advice anyway.

Our VP told an interviewer we want players to experience "weddings, raids, and new adventures." She listed weddings first. Before raids. In a game called Warcraft. Nobody in the room flinched.

She also said "No one thinks the same about Warhammer."

She compared our franchise unfavorably to a competitor. On the record. As a defense of the franchise.

The forums are on fire. Twenty-year veterans are writing goodbye posts. One thread is titled "Think I'm done with WoW." Another calls our pre-patch a "player purge."

We called our GDKP raiders "delusional."

We timed a cash shop bundle to launch during the Trading Post anniversary -- the one event where players earn free cosmetics. We offered 200 discounted items but kept the monthly currency cap at 1,000. The math doesn't work unless you open your wallet.

The community noticed. We described their concerns as "feedback we're monitoring."

We are always monitoring. We have never once changed course because of monitoring.

The players say we're "Disneyfying" the game. Turning gritty into cute. War into weddings. Orcs into mascots.

They're not wrong.

The data says approachable properties have wider TAM. Total addressable market. That's the metric now. Not "subscribers who love the game." Not "community that built this franchise." TAM.

TAM doesn't post on forums. TAM doesn't write goodbye letters. TAM doesn't have 20 years of muscle memory and lore knowledge and raid nights that turned into real friendships.

TAM is a number in a slide deck that makes a board feel comfortable.

We added player housing. Players have asked for it since 2004. We launched it in 2026. Twenty-two years. We described this as "listening to our community."

We are very good at listening. Eventually. When the feature aligns with a monetization roadmap.

Here is what I know and cannot say in a meeting:

The name was never the problem. The name built this. The name survived server crashes and subscription drops and an activision merger and a harassment scandal and a $68.7 billion acquisition.

The name is "Warcraft" and for 30 years nobody was confused about what it meant.

The problem is not that new players find the name intimidating.

The problem is that old players are starting to find us unrecognizable.

And we don't have a focus group for that.

[GirthyB @GirthyB]

Thank you, Internet��🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Ned Stark @FantasyWorldW1]

Lord of the Rings characters as popular memes!

[Michael Loda @MichaelLoda]

They’re talking about “approachability” and “bringing it to as many people as possible” because it’s constantly losing players. They’re focusing on the symptoms instead of the root problem. This “IP” has been run into the ground. Warcraft’s identity (its strongest point) was eroded.

Go watch the WoD trailer, the Wrath trailer, TBC, Vanilla, Warcraft 3… Even something like Skyrim. What do you feel? That’s what inspired millions to play these games. Look at all the Warcraft fanart over the last 20 years. Those Disneyfied animation haven’t inspired anyone. It doesn’t resonate with anybody.

Why are they so ignorant and can’t realise this? This is a fantasy game, and you’re not selling us the fantasy that we want to engage in and pay for. And yes, it's not always been perfect, but it's got much worse.

And now you get this interview, and everyone dislikes it. They apparently dislike the very thing they work on.

Even Chris Metzen himself who was this big promise for this new “saga”, which is absolutely failing. Where even is he now?

I started playing in 2014 – too late to experience its greatness, just in time to witness the downfall. At this point it’s probably beyond fixing, too late.
#worldofwarcraft #warcraft

[EMPE @Shadoweaving]

Red Sun!

[BrooklynVegan @brooklynvegan]

This week's Notable Releases include Joyce Manor, By Storm, Red Sun & more https://t.co/v7ej9lbZsO

[Dr. Clown, PhD @DrClownPhD]

I still can’t believe this is real 🤣

[Adam Johnston @adamkjohnston]

We are engaged in a conflict over sovereignty.

One side believes America is a sovereign nation with the right (and obligation) to enforce its borders and immigration laws.

The other side completely rejects U.S. sovereignty, insists that 'no human is illegal, and argues that America is illegitimate because it was founded on “stolen land.”

There’s no debating with the side that wants to end America.

[David Marcus @BlueBoxDave]

For the 1,000th time. Pretti was not at a protest. There was no protest. The protesters arrived *after* the shooting. He was involved in an organized direct action to impede federal agents. Stop saying he was at a protest, it’s just a lie.

[Adam Johnston @adamkjohnston]

You know the U.S. Apache helicopter?

Literally invented by the Apache.

[Gad Saad @GadSaad]

@sciencegirl By far, the greatest threat to humanity stems from parasitized minds bathing in suicidal empathy. It's not even close. Remember this post. [Also reposted this reply.]

[C3 @C_3C_3]

Want to see a Judicial Coup?

Court injunctions:

Biden: 14 in 4 years
Clinton: 12 in 8 years
Obama: 12 in 8 years
GW Bush: 6 in 8 years

Trump: 170 in 4 years and 10 months.

The Judiciary is filled with Leftist activists just like schools.

Impeaching corrupt judges is a must.

[GeoInsider @InsiderGeo]

BREAKING: Russia’s parliament approves withdrawal from the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement with the U.S. a Cold War-era pact to reduce weapons-grade plutonium stockpiles. The move raises serious concerns over global nuclear security and strategic stability.

[EMPE @Shadoweaving]

Pretty wild job description found on LinkedIn.

[EMPE @Shadoweaving]

@FunkerActual Have they asked the PRC or Talaban for assistance,yet?

[John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad]

“EVERYONE In EVERY MOS… including in the air and AT SEA… must have basic proficiency in basic combat skills”

WE DID IT. We got massive pushback from Naval officers who do not want to carry a sidearm or visit the range. Now the Secretary of War has ruled in our favor 🤩🤩👇