The greatest stroke of genius to boost the morale of the Horde in World of Warcraft is nothing more than a coincidence. That is the funny truth about “Zappy Boi”.
A few days ago, when the new WoW cinematic “Old Warrior” was released, players of World of Warcraft were excited.
There was not only clear resistance against Sylvanas’ decision to set Teldrassil on fire, but also a popular meme from the community was revived. The troll Zekhan, better known in the community as “Zappy Boi” (or “Zappi Boi” or “Zappy Boy”), is, however, nothing more than a coincidence.
Where does Zappy Boi come from? In the official intro cinematic of “Battle for Azeroth”, a troll shaman can be seen casting a chain lightning and standing out among the other warriors of the Horde.
The community quickly picked up this troll and made him a symbol of the Horde. Memes with titles like “Fight for the Horde, fight for Zappy Boi” were created, but also the “Who would win?” meme, where Greymane faces off against the shaman.
Skepticism and joy in the community. When the cinematic “Old Warrior” was released a few days ago, the player base was instantly skeptical. Did Blizzard just include the troll after he became so popular on Reddit? Was this a clever stroke of genius to first stir up the community with the “Warbringer: Sylvanas” and then calm them down again with the new video featuring “Zappy Boi”?
Blizzard confirms coincidence. In the official forum, community manager Ythisens has now confirmed that the whole hype around Zappy Boi was a pure coincidence. The “Old Warrior” cinematic was already finished long before players even had the chance to see the intro to Battle for Azeroth. “We had no way to predict this. Just luck then? If you want to call it that.”
Well calculated by Blizzard or just the perfect, fitting coincidence for the game studio? What is your opinion on this?
