The sexism scandal at Activision Blizzard has further consequences for the MMORPG World of Warcraft. After difficult NPCs have already been removed from the game, Blizzard is now targeting two achievements in patch 9.1.5. They contained frivolous references in the English version that Blizzard apparently no longer finds funny.
This is a change regarding the achievements in WoW:
During the Christmas season, WoW features the achievement “Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho’s”. The achievement involves using a mistletoe on 8 Alliance NPCs that have “Brother” in their name.
This is a double entendre:
- On one hand, “Ho Ho Ho” is the famous exclamation of Santa Claus, alerting everyone to the presence of a 120-kilo giant in red with a white beard.
- On the other hand, there is the saying “Bros before Hoes” in English, which means that “male friendships are more important than fleeting relationships” or simply “Brother before whore”. ‘Hoes’ is a derogatory term for women.
Apparently, Blizzard no longer finds the derogatory reference “Ho’s” amusing. The achievement has now been renamed to “Holiday Bromance” in patch 9.1.5. In German, the achievement was already called “Brüderliche Weihnacht”.
The achievement had been in the game since 2008.
This is the other change: In WoW, the NPC “Haris Pilton” has existed in Shattrath since 2007, a reference to Paris Hilton.
Pilton was a bit cheeky in WoW and awarded the achievement “My Sack is Gigantique”. You received this when equipping a handbag that had 24 slots. That was absolutely huge for its time.
The word “sack” functions in English as it does in German, referring both to a bag and colloquially to testicles. Thus, the achievement can also be interpreted as a macho saying “I have gigantic eggs,” if one wanted to. This is no longer possible.
The achievement has been renamed in English to “My Storage is Gigantique”. In German, the achievement was already called “Meine Tasche ist von Dolche & Giganta,” a reference without sexual connotation.
Blizzard cleans up after the sexism scandal in WoW
This is the background: The changes come after Blizzard was in the spotlight of a sexism scandal. An agency had accused Blizzard of having a macho culture.
Male employees would come to the office drunk and sleep off their hangover while letting women do their work. Additionally, derogatory comments were made about women.
Blizzard announced on July 27 that it would introduce new internal work guidelines to “protect members of marginalized groups and hold accountable those who threaten them.” They also wanted to take immediate measures to remove references to the real world that they no longer consider appropriate.
Apparently, these are the effects of this new policy.
A major change had already come to WoW at the end of July 2021:
WoW reacts: All references to Afrasiabi in the game have been removed
