World of Warcraft Removes References to Former Employee Named in Harassment Lawsuit

In the wake of the lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard regarding sexism and harassment within the company, World of Warcraft has undergone a few changes to remove references to Alex Afrasiabi, a former employee of Blizzard that was specifically named as part of the lawsuit.

Our sister site Wowhead has compiled a list of known changes, which follow a statement issued by Blizzard through the Warcraft social channels that said the team would “take immediate action in Azeroth to remove references that are not appropriate for our world.” The statement said work to alter these weapon, character, and quest names had been underway, and changes will be seen in both the ongoing World of Warcraft Shadowlands expansion and World of Warcraft Classic.

A message from the #Warcraft team. pic.twitter.com/3gWCz1gu8T

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) July 27, 2021

The examples Wowhead has already compiled include:

• Fras Siabi’s Axe from Dire Maul is now Grimm’s Cigar Cutter;
• All Fras Siabi references in Stratholme, both the dungeon and pet challenge, now direct to Ezra Grimm – Such as the mini-boss Ezra Grimm, The Great Ezra Grimm quest and Ezra Grimm’s Advertisement;
• All Furor items have been renamed – Foror’s Compendium of Dragon Slaying is now Nostro’s Compendium of Dragon Slaying. The Autographed Picture of Foror and Tigule now only features Tigule, a reference to Jeff Kaplan.
• Field Marshal Afrasiabi in Stormwind has been replaced by Field Marshal Stonebridge;
• Lord Afrastrasz at Wyrmrest Temple is now Lord Devrestrasz;
• Pathstalker Kariel in Eversong Woods is now Pathstalker Avokor;
• Shard of Afrasa is now Shard of the Splithooves;

The lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard came as part of a two-year investigation into the working conditions at the company, which laid out in detail both harassment and unequal treatment women at the company had been subjected to while working, including one story that tragically ended with a woman dying by suicide. In the days since, the company’s leadership has been divided in its public and private response, which led to over 1,000 past and present workers signing a letter calling for transparency from higher-ups, as well as the resignation of Frances Townsend, the executive vice president for corporate affairs.

Today, employees are staging a walkout to protest the company’s working conditions.