Turtle WoW servers go dark after more than eight years

Turtle WoW, the flagship of the Classic+ idea, switched off its realms for good on 15 May 2026. The shutdown follows the April settlement with Blizzard Entertainment and the permanent injunction that bars the operators from running, updating, distributing or promoting the server and its modded client.

The server took a Vanilla base and added new zones, races, dungeons and raids, plus a custom storyline, Mysteries of Azeroth. In the final weeks the team moved every realm to its last progression phase so players could see the newest raids. The donation shop had been switched off since the settlement. On the last evening players organised farewell gatherings, and the team later said that send-off convinced them to build a new world of their own.

Mainstream outlets including PC Gamer and Wowhead covered the closure, along with Stormforge's shutdown the day before. Analysts linked the enforcement wave to speculation about an official Classic+ reveal at BlizzCon 2026.

Moonwhisper Games and OctoWoW

On 1 June 2026 the former team announced Moonwhisper Games, a studio building an original MMORPG with its own IP. Community-run spin-offs built from Turtle WoW's leaked code, notably OctoWoW, appeared within weeks and attracted thousands of former players.