Blizzard and Turtle WoW settle: permanent injunction ends the Classic+ project

In mid-April 2026 the legal fight between Blizzard Entertainment and Turtle WoW came to an end. A settlement was reached in the Central District of California and the court entered a permanent injunction against AFKCraft Ltd. and affiliated parties; Blizzard's win was reported on 11–13 April and the consent judgment was entered shortly afterwards.

Terms of the order

• Cease hosting, developing and maintaining the Turtle WoW servers and its modded client
• Halt development of the Unreal Engine "Turtle WoW 2.0" project
• Stop soliciting donations or any financial transactions for the service
• No transfer of source code, databases or social accounts to third parties, to prevent a rebrand or relaunch

The Turtle WoW team waived its right to appeal, and proceedings were stayed until 8 June 2026 so the parties could finalise the settlement. The donation shop was disabled immediately.

Background

Blizzard filed the suit on 29 August 2025, alleging copyright and trademark infringement, circumvention of technical protections and RICO violations, and noting the project's monetisation and public mockery of Blizzard. Turtle WoW had responded in October 2025 with an open letter proposing a licensing framework.

Within days the team announced a sunset date of 15 May 2026, and the settlement triggered a wave of further enforcement across the scene.