Blizzard Entertainment files a lawsuit in a California court to shut down the private World of Warcraft server Project Ascension. Multiple reports say the company alleges copyright infringement and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, along with additional related claims. Blizzard’s complaint characterizes Project Ascension as an unauthorized, profitable way to exploit Blizzard’s World of Warcraft experience, and asserts that the project distributes “millions of pirated copies” of Blizzard’s copyrighted software. Blizzard also alleges the server markets itself as having over a million players and takes revenue through a free-to-play model that includes purchases of in-game currency (“Donation Points”), such as cosmetics and experience boosts.
The reports further claim Project Ascension operates with server hosting described as Russian “bulletproof” infrastructure and associates hosting with Aeza Group. They reference U.S. Treasury action in 2025 that sanctioned Aeza Group for support related to cybercriminal activity.
The lawsuit is presented as part of Blizzard’s broader efforts against private servers, including a recent case involving Turtle WoW, which was settled after Blizzard obtained a permanent injunction to shut it down.
