World of Warcraft was a game truly ahead of its time. So much so, that its players already witnessed the effects of a pandemic more than a decade ago. Now, that pandemic may prove useful to scientists studying covid-19.
On September 13, 2005, Blizzard’s incredibly popular massive multiplayer online role playing game World of Warcraft (WoW) experienced an unintended event that mimicked the spread of a viral infection throughout its playerbase. A damaging effect, called Corrupted Blood, ravaged thousands of players, and left lower-leveled characters in an unavoidable death-loop. The effect, known as a debuff, was a temporary condition, but one that could spread to other players if they stood close enough to each other, just like a real virus.
