World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard’s old-school MMORPG set for full launch on November 4, is already grappling with a problem largely outside its community’s control: the outsized influence of streamers. According to an analysis by Cameron Koch for GameSpot, that challenge has crystallized into two distinct issues—real-money transaction (RMT) controversies and a single streamer’s guild so large it threatens to monopolize a server.
Streamers have been part of WoW since Twitch’s earliest days. The 2019 release of WoW Classic was a watershed moment, drawing 1.1 million concurrent viewers and 55 million hours watched during launch week. WoW: Forever’s beta isn’t quite reaching those numbers so far, but interest and viewership remain high for the game before its official release, with Blizzard employees noting multiple times that Forever’s beta is breaking records.
The downside of that popularity has become obvious. Some streamers are already using their large communities in the beta to gain an advantage over average players—having members donate materials to speedrun professions or gifting them huge amounts of gold. One streamer promoted illegal gold buying live on air, encouraging his community to “swipe their credit card” so he could profit in turn. Another is building an in-game community so large that many fear it will swallow a server whole, with no good alternatives for those who want to avoid the situation.
RMT and Gold-Buying Controversies
The clearest example lies in Forever’s recent RMT controversies. While broadcasting live, streamer Ziqo was seen accepting large sums of gold that were almost certainly not acquired through normal play, causing an uproar over how a blatant violation could go unpunished. Another streamer, Payo, promoted gold buying on stream to his community.
The two were benefiting from gold buying—though not necessarily the ones purchasing it directly—in the lead-up to an upcoming LINK_
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