In the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, players marched through the PvP area Cyrodiil to protest for peace in the real world. Hundreds participated and no one disturbed the action, even though there are currently bonus rewards in PvP. Players are now sharing screenshots and videos of the event.
What was this action all about? Under the title #ESOFamAgainstWar, hundreds of players gathered in the PvP area Cyrodiil and protested peacefully. Normally, the three factions fight there and try to take control of castles from one another.
But in light of the situation in Ukraine, hundreds of players decided to lay down their weapons and protest for peace. They held a march across the area and walked side by side, regardless of which faction they represented.
In keeping with this, there were slogans such as “PvP in Real Life is bad”, “For Peace”, or “In memory of the victims of war”.
You can watch a video of the event on YouTube:
Protests in PvP areas attract trolls, but this time it was absent
How did the action go? Calmly. Events in PvP areas often invite interruptions by players. Currently, there is even an event with double experience points in PvP.
However, the event took place without an incident. Even stupid comments in the chat were absent, which some of the organizers had feared. The players were able to protest together and peacefully for a better world.
– Live blog about the events in Ukraine (via Zeit)
– Announcements from the Foreign Office on the topic of Ukraine (via auswaertiges-amt)
– Focus: War against Ukraine (via ard)
Are there these protests in other MMORPGs as well? Yes, in games like RuneScape or Tibia Online, players have protested for peace or for Ukraine.
In Final Fantasy XIV, there was also a protest organized by players. Here, dozens of players gathered wearing blue and yellow outfits – the colors of Ukraine:
In general, communities from online games repeatedly take a stand on real issues and show their compassion when it comes to their fellow human beings. In Final Fantasy, for example, hundreds mourned the death of a player who did not survive an infection with Corona.
However, the conflict in Ukraine is also occupying the gaming scene. There are reports about development studios from the country, fundraising streams are being held, and some are refraining from silliness out of respect, while others try to use exactly that for distraction.
How the German gaming streamers reacted to the current situation is summarized here:
To provide distraction or not? How German gaming streamers react to the invasion of Ukraine
