While the lawsuit lays out examples of extreme pay disparity between male and female employees, and lack of upward mobility, investigative reports have shed light on an insidious workplace culture. Since the lawsuit, stories have emerged about exactly how bad working for Blizzard was for women and women of color. On July 21, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for repeatedly discriminating against female employees and fostering a workplace where sexual harassment went unpunished. And most players agree that WoW has hit something of a storytelling drought.īut it’s one thing for WoW to be losing players over differences in game design philosophy. In contrast, WoW has spent the last couple of years complicating its base systems like items, making players feel like they have to do more work for even the most basic endgame rewards. In fact, this philosophy is sometimes a criticism from FF 14 players who want more hardcore content. One of Final Fantasy 14’s biggest advantages over WoW is its relative flexibility, allowing players to play as much or little as they want without punishing them for the lack of grinding. Unlike WoW, Final Fantasy 14 began from a place of relative disarray, but year after year has improved with new, beloved expansions. And while Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida downplayed any rivalry, the fact that many of WoW’s top streamers were defecting to Square Enix’s MMORPG was a big deal. This led to talk about a “WoW Exodus.” After a history of unpopular gameplay changes and strange story decisions, longtime players were fed up and seeking different games to play. 'It's been nauseating to learn of all that's been allowed to go on at Activision Blizzard.' Several high-profile streamers and YouTubers who primarily focused on World of Warcraft content were trying out Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn for the first time. And Zepla’s early WoW fandom allows them to help players make the transition.Įven before the lawsuit scandal broke, World of Warcraft was already in the news.

And though she primarily produces Final Fantasy 14 videos, her channel has been one of the biggest resources for new players looking to make the change from WoW. With over 200,000 subscribers, Zepla is one of the largest Final Fantasy 14 content creators on YouTube. I was obsessed with, in love with the game - I mourned when members of the cherished “Old Guard” left the company.” World of Warcraft was all I cared about from 2004 until 2015. “It’s been nauseating to learn of all that’s been allowed to go on at Activision Blizzard,” Zepla said in an email to IGN. Now some of WoW’s biggest content creators say they’re leaving the game for good.

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