The Void draws closer in World of Warcraft. Xal’atath attacks Twitch streamers and this results in mixed reactions.
Currently, in World of Warcraft, the pre-event for the new expansion “The War Within” is taking place. But behind the scenes, Blizzard is apparently busy promoting and is engaging many streamers in a curious way. The various streams and videos are being visited by the antagonist of the new WoW addon. Xal’atath takes control and mocks the streamers and their viewers.
What is happening with streamers right now? In the videos of many well-known WoW streamers, there are currently small “incidents” where the screen suddenly darkens and a familiar voice “hijacks” the stream for a few seconds: Xal’atath, the new antagonist from World of Warcraft.
Here, for example, at Taliesin & Eviltel, starting at minute 12:00:
The quality of these “invasions” varies quite a bit. While in many cases, “only” a video overlays the stream and Xal’atath says a few words about the respective stream, there are also some more elaborate animations.
Another example with MrGM starting at 0:30:
Especially the one from Preach stands out here. But see for yourself, starting at minute 2:13:
This is how the community reacts: Reactions to this type of promotion are quite varied. While some find it very “cringe” and apparently feel embarrassed for the participating streamers, many also find this method of promotion quite successful and entertaining – it’s something creative and different from the typical advertising style of game presentations.
Some of the comments (via wowhead) on this:
- “This is a great idea from Blizzard, the work that went into it is just amazing.” – Hyphie
- “Wait, aren’t these just [the streamers] trying to be cringe? I thought they were just trying to be funny and emulate Xal’atath.” – Chaxton
- “I know I’m probably in the minority, but … I love these videos.” – FczkDA
If you are now just confused with question marks over your head and don’t know at all what Xal’atath, the Void, or even the setting of the new expansion is about, we highly recommend this story article: The story of Xal’atath, the new antagonist from WoW.
