Blizzard Loses Real ID: Keeps Chat Forums Anonymous

Tags: world of warcraft real id blizzard

Due to the negative feedback, Blizzard says they will not be forcing gamers to use Real ID on the official Battle.net forum.

In case you were one of the many up in arms regarding Blizzards new "reveal yourself rule" on the official Battle.net forum, you can now relax. Keep your tough guy persona or whatever you use to mask your true identity as Blizzard has had a change of heart thanks to the overwhelming amount of negative feedback they've received regarding the anonymity issue.

Mike Morhaime, Blizzard CEO, announced the cancellation of the Real ID forum plans on the World of Warcraft forums. Though some forums will remain anonymous, Blizzard's plan for Real ID have remained for in-game. Here's what Morhaime had to say:

I want to make sure it's clear that our plans for the forums are completely separate from our plans for the optional in-game Real ID system now live with World of Warcraft and launching soon with StarCraft II. We believe that the powerful communications functionality enabled by Real ID, such as cross-game and cross-realm chat, make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games. And of course, you'll still be able to keep your relationships at the anonymous, character level if you so choose when you communicate with other players in game. Over time, we will continue to evolve Real ID on Battle.net to add new and exciting functionality within our games for players who decide to use the feature.

Blizzard also plans on adding chat support soon as other complaints from gamers included a lack of chat rooms in the StarCraft II beta. Looks like when gamers talk, Blizzard listens.