Since Microsoft owns Blizzard, they don’t want MMO players to have a different experience than the official one.

Earlier this year, a private World of Warcraft server called Turtle WoW announced that it was shutting down after Blizzard ordered it to cease operations and filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against it. Now, another server has landed in the crosshairs. On Friday, a new lawsuit was filed against Project Ascension, a private server project that operates multiple servers. According to the complaint, the defendants have built their entire business on large-scale infringement of Blizzard’s intellectual property. The complaint notes that Ascension is one of the largest private WoW servers available today, with over one million players.

It is a modified, classless, free-to-play game where players can create unique playstyles by combining existing and unique spells. “Build the character of your dreams,” reads its website. Another project appears to be in development that brings new ideas to the classic version of World of Warcraft, similar to Turtle WoW or the secret project Blizzard is reportedly working on. Like Turtle WoW, this server allows players to purchase in-game items with donation points. According to the complaint, this generated millions of dollars in revenue for the Project Ascension team.

The complaint further alleges that the game’s pirate servers are hosted on “bulletproof” servers linked to the Russia-based Aeza Group. The U.S. Department of the Treasury accuses the group of facilitating cybercriminal activity and technology theft, which allegedly indicates willful participation in illegal activities.

Although the Turtle WoW team initially urged Blizzard to consider creating an official licensing framework for fan servers, the Project Ascension team has not yet issued a public statement. Fans of the server on Reddit aren’t very hopeful. Ultimately, there will either be an official solution or none at all.

Source: PCGamer, Scribd, Project Ascension, Treasury