After a somewhat rocky start to the release night, most players WoW Dragonflight can now play without issues and experience the story of the new expansion. This is currently leading to discussions in the community, as characters repeatedly mention that they have same-sex partners. The debates are heated. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus finds himself a bit caught in the middle.
The discussion about “wokeness,” diversity, and equality has been gaining momentum for years and is often not well conducted. Instead of engaging on a factual level and seeking a common path, advocates and opponents are shouting at each other, insulting each other, and not even trying to understand the other side.
At least that’s what I see in social media lately. Additionally, there are discussions about whether media and companies like Netflix are imposing their “doctrine” on the audience. The topic is also present in gaming.
A prominent example was a few years ago with The Last of Us – Part II. There was review bombing on Metacritic due to an alleged LGBTQ agenda. Metacritic reacted too late back then.
Now the discussion is also reaching World of Warcraft, although not quite to the same extent. Nevertheless, the topic of equality and homosexuality is one that is currently occupying the community a lot.
In fact, I’ve noticed while playing that characters often casually mention their same-sex partners. This made me raise my eyebrows—not because I would reject it, but because I know the reactions it would provoke. And I was right.
Dragonflight was released on November 29. You can find all the info on the new expansion and in the trailer the features of Dragonflight at a glance:
Players comment: ‘Homophobes are triggered’
To put this in context: I am bisexual myself and have many contacts in the LGBTQ scene, often dealing extensively with the topics of gender and equality. I studied literature and chose gender constructs as a theme in my thesis and gender studies as an interdisciplinary cross-discipline.
With this, I always try to maintain a fairly objective view. Especially to avoid annoying anyone—that doesn’t help, in my view.
Blizzard decided to have relatively many characters appear as homosexual in Dragonflight. “Relatively” because there had already been a few gay or lesbian couples before, but they were more on the sidelines of the main storyline.
Now the couple Miguel and Thomas Bright accompany players through the expansions and introduce them to the new crafting system. In side quests, a gay dragon couple deals with elementally charged murloc relatives, and a centaur wants to propose to his beloved. There are also signs of a lesbian romance early in the story with two important NPCs among the new Dracthyr.
And those are just the examples I found directly around the main story without looking too far to the left and right. I’m still missing most of the side quests.
The community is having a big reaction to all this. In the currently largest thread on Reddit with over 7,600 upvotes and 2,300 comments, those who complain get a cynical meme featuring the controversial podcaster Alex Jones:
It’s all about the “how”
Many users discuss whether it is really such a big deal to see homosexual characters in a game. It’s much worse, for example, that you have to kill 15 otters to find a single heart for a quest: “Do the animals here have no damn organs?!”
Others simply find the sheer amount— or rather the frequency—too much. Especially the aforementioned Bright couple does not tire of emphasizing that they are married. Over and over again, in almost every consecutive quest. This annoys even those who are not bothered by the topic itself:
“I have nothing against it, but after I read it in the quest text somehow three times, I think to myself: ‘Yes, I got it.'”
Even players who, according to their own statements, are also homosexual are annoyed by the constant mentions. They appreciate the representation in the game, but the way it is presented is just too much.
I see it similarly. I am glad that same-sex love is being more prominently brought into the mainstream of society. Or rather: it is no longer labeled as an unnatural, disgusting inclination. Such things should also be allowed in games, but please with more tact.
To be fair, I have to say that hetero couples have also received a lot of spotlight, but more so in previous expansions and less in Dragonflight. The only prominent example I noticed was between Nozdormu and his partner, who address each other with pet names.
The choice of words is crucial, as it is often subtle hints in the text that help or disturb. It is sufficient when characters casually mention who their partner is, when it is contextually relevant—or when as a player you can directly ask about it. But mentioning it repeatedly just for the sake of mentioning does not help, it annoys. Even me.
This applies, by the way, to both homo- and heterosexual characters. The sexual preferences of a character are completely irrelevant as long as they are not somehow significant to a story or quest. I don’t care if a soldier in a shooter is gay or not. He should be able to handle his weapons properly.
This constant repetition, especially in other media, brings the feeling of a sledgehammer with it. It rather leads to defensive reactions and has a huge drawback, especially at Blizzard.
In the whole discussion, some players forget why we are even on the Dragon Isles—Dragonmother Alexstrasza explains:
The sexism scandal leaves a bitter aftertaste
In 2021, a massive sexism scandal hit Activision Blizzard. According to reports, employees allegedly partied and drank wildly through the offices, groped women, or met for sex orgies in hotel suites.
There was a huge controversy about the working atmosphere and the values that Blizzard stands for. The company, which represents a beacon for good games and closeness to the community for many gamers since their childhood.
Eventually, the studio was cleaned up. Many people left (or were let go) and they pledged: We will do better. They hired new executives, including a lesbian woman, and the topic of diversity became increasingly important.
I don’t want to go over this again. The topic is really not nice, but if you are interested: in the podcast, our executives discuss everything in more detail:
In light of the fact that a change in thinking is to take place here and they want to present themselves as a modern, progressive company, this almost intrusive mention of homosexuality seems rather like something Blizzard is doing just to save face. Ironically, the new head has already left shortly after her appointment.
I do not blame the developer for this. I sincerely hope that Blizzard is truly taking a new direction. The one for which I have loved the studio since Warcraft and StarCraft. Only the outward effect unfortunately is different at the moment.
The discussion about diversity and equality will accompany us for many years to come. And if it continues like this, it will not be pleasant, but very exhausting. If both sides sought more solutions and were less stubborn in their positions, the steps forward would be so much easier.
A different perspective: Positively surprised by the representation of diverse characters
Cortyn is the main demon for World of Warcraft at MeinMMO and has already written numerous columns, news, analysis, and guides for the MMORPG – and holds a different opinion than I do.
Cortyn says: I hold a slightly different view than Benedict and am positively surprised by the representation and frequency of diverse characters in Dragonflight – especially because I find that it integrates well and naturally. Blizzard has said for a long time that everyone should feel welcome in World of Warcraft, and that is now also reflected in the quest texts.
This is not a completely new thing. Already in Legion, there were the first openly homosexual couples in quests, and in Shadowlands, there was even a transgender character who later takes on a significant role in the story.
I also do not believe that anyone is being “forced” anything here, but that the representation of such characters is now occurring just as normally as it does for heterosexual characters. That it stands out so much to some is primarily due to the fact that it is not yet normal to see such things in Azeroth. Because with all the heterosexual characters, most do not notice them anymore.
When someone says “my beloved” or “my beloved” when seeing men and women with the same surname in the game world, that is still the “normal” thing we overlook. In the Dragon Isles, there are dozens of characters who are in some relationship or at least in love. Be it the grieving dwarf mourning his partner, the companions of the aspects, or the mothers of the centaurs—there are so many heterosexual characters that are simply overlooked in the discussion.
I can understand both sides to some extent. Especially with Miguel and Thomas, I sometimes had to roll my eyes in amused annoyance at how much they emphasize their love—but they do it just as much as Tyrande and Malfurion or any other quest givers with strong feelings of love do. Love is sometimes something annoying for everyone else. It’s the annoying tendency to share from those deeply in love—regardless of what their sexual orientation is.
German comedian points out sexism in games like WoW in ARD: ‘You should have been a better healer’
