Former Turtle WoW team forms Moonwhisper Games to build an original MMO

The team behind Turtle WoW has formed a new studio, Moonwhisper Games. In its announcement on 1 June 2026, just over two weeks after Turtle WoW's realms went offline on 15 May, the team said it would build an original MMORPG from the ground up, with its own story, world and IP. The game will not be based on World of Warcraft or any other Blizzard property.

Early work focuses on the game world, lore and backstory, core gameplay systems and infrastructure. The studio has a new website and a redesigned Discord. It has not given a release window or any funding details.

According to the team, the farewell players gave Turtle WoW's worlds convinced them to create a place where that community could reunite: a game they would want to play themselves, "regardless of time, risks and associated costs".

Massively Overpowered and Mein-MMO both reported a split reaction. Supporters pointed to the team's years of experience running a large live game and shipping custom content. Sceptics cited the poor track record of crowdfunded MMOs and lingering questions from the lawsuit, which had also halted the earlier Unreal Engine project Turtle WoW 2.0.

Project Ascension would make a similar move three months later, after its own settlement with Blizzard.