World of Warcraft
Blizzard's 2004 fantasy MMORPG — the game that defined the massively-multiplayer online genre and at its peak had more subscribers than several small countries had citizens.
Origin
Launched in November 2004 and grew explosively through the late 2000s, peaking at around 12 million subscribers in 2010. Players choose a race (Human, Orc, Night Elf, etc.) and a class (Warrior, Mage, Priest, etc.), explore the world of Azeroth, run dungeons and raids in groups, and (increasingly) fight other players. The game popularized the modern subscription MMO, the level-grind/raid-loop, the guild as a social structure, and quite a lot of internet vocabulary ('AFK,' 'aggro,' 'nerf,' 'OP,' 'PVP'). South Park's 2006 'Make Love, Not Warcraft' episode is the canonical mainstream-culture moment.
Modern usage
'WoW' is shorthand for the entire MMO subculture. The 'Leeroy Jenkins' viral guild-wipe clip is the franchise's most famous cultural export. 'Touch grass' as a phrase emerged largely from MMO and competitive-gaming communities. The blue-and-gold Alliance vs. red Horde dichotomy is universally readable to anyone over thirty.
Tags