Blizzard’s servers auctioned off to World of Warcraft fans
Blizzard’s innovative solution
World of Warcraft, a massively popular game since its launch in 2004, required powerful servers to support its millions of players. In an interesting turn of events, Blizzard decided to auction off its old servers to fans in a unique way.
The story behind the auction
Blizzard’s servers, equipped with AMD Opteron 275 processors in HP ProLiant BL25p blades, faced constant database writing to save the state of every player. After 6-7 years, the company faced the challenge of replacing over 10,000 old blades, which could potentially cost them a significant amount for removal.
To avoid these costs, Blizzard decided to sell the hardware to World of Warcraft fans. The blades were pulled from global data centers, and auctioned off in a charity event for St. Jude, providing Blizzard with a tax benefit and covering the project cost of removing the old blades.
A fan’s memorable experience
A fan, Tod Weitzel, shared his experience of participating in the auction and winning a server blade for his home server, Cenarion Circle. The blade arrived with a WoW logo plexiglass cover, which he then shared with members of his guild who signed it. This heartwarming story showcases the connection between WoW players and the game’s hardware.
Source : www.techradar.com
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