No More World of Warcraft for Iran

Blizzard shuts down game to comply with sanctions
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2012 8:36 AM CDT
No More World of Warcraft for Iran
This file image from the game "World of Warcraft" was provided by its publisher, Blizzard Entertainment.   (AP Photo/Blizzard Entertainment, file)

How punishing are US sanctions on Iran? Ask the nation's nerds, many of whom have now been cut off from their drug of choice: World of Warcraft. Last week Iranian players discovered they suddenly couldn't access the popular MMO, the Guardian reports. Blizzard eventually revealed, in a battle.net post, that it had "tightened up its procedures to ensure compliance" with US sanction laws. It also noted that sanctions prevent it from offering credits or refunds to users. Some were furious. "Blizzard had full knowledge this was going to happen," one user posted, but "they continued to accept subscriptions."

Before that, many had speculated that the regime was censoring the game. One user posted an image of a government pamphlet decrying the game for its "promotion of superstition and mythology" and "promotion of violence due to too much violence." The user told the Verge that he is a freelance journalist who got the pamphlet at a media conference for the founding for the Islamic Revolution Game Designers Community. (More World of Warcraft stories.)

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