“Xbox Fans Are Paid”, Says Former World of Warcraft Designer

Published 07/01/2023, 7:30 AM EDT

Follow Us

The aftermath of the FTC v. Microsoft case has been quite interesting, to say the least. That’s because the situation is still far from being settled as everyone is waiting for the result. While it’s still a few days away, there’s another piece of news that is spreading across social media rapidly. And the Xbox community won’t feel very good about it.

It seems like someone just got really affected by the recently concluded case between Microsoft and FTC (on behalf of Sony). It could be one of the reasons why they ended up sharing a tweet that could cause a major controversy on the internet, especially among the Xbox fanatics. What’s even more interesting to note is that the tweet is made by someone who was previously associated with World of Warcraft. The latter is the IP by Activision Blizzard – the same publisher Microsoft is trying to acquire for $68.7 billion.

Ex-World of Warcraft Team Lead reveals Xbox fans are not real but paid bots by Microsoft

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Mark Kern, a Taiwanese-American video game designer best known for being a team leader on World of Warcraft, recently took to Twitter to share his opinions on the Xbox fandom. While dropping his tweet, he wrote that hardcore fans praising Microsoft are not real.

“A lot of these xbox fans are paid firms or bots (rabid fan run or MS run). This is standard practice now in corpo warfare”, read Mr. Kern’s tweet. Additionally, he also wrote that the ongoing situation will become “far worse with AI”.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

As one can clearly see, he seems to be targeting those who are supporting Microsoft. While it’s not exactly confirmed, the tweet could be indirectly related to the case between the Xbox maker and FTC.

Microsoft Had Plans To “Spend Sony Out of Business” To Boost Xbox, Reveals Internal Email

It’s not hidden from anyone that both PlayStation and Xbox lovers keep admiring their favorite consoles a lot. This is quite normal to witness on social media given the fact that ‘Console Wars‘ is a thing now, as mentioned in the recent case itself. However, Kern’s tweet might result in an unnecessary, elongated controversy between the fans of Sony and Microsoft.

As of this writing, Mark hasn’t shared a follow-up tweet on the one mentioned above to explain what was going on in his mind while making such a claim.

UPDATE:

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

It looks like Mark is confident about the claims he’s made. Following his tweet on July 1st, he came up with another one the day after. Not to mention that it was also targeted towards Microsoft. He wrote that Xbox’s Director of Integrated Marketing assured him “they would never hire an influencer network or sponsor streamers to shill for Xbox.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

But Mark tried to make a point that the Xbox’s team is still paying for bot streams, bot chat, and bot followers. What are your thoughts on this entire situation so far? Let us know in the comments down below.

WATCH THIS STORY: The Best Horror Games of All Time on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Mintu Tomar

2,763Articles

One take at a time

Mintu Tomar is a senior eSports writer at EssentiallySports, whose passion for video games is unmatched. With an impressive portfolio of over 1900 articles, Mintu is an expert in the coverage of Call of Duty. His extensive knowledge of the industry and insightful commentary have earned him the respect of many prominent figures, including actors, podcast hosts, and other important individuals in the gaming world.
Show More>

Edited by:

Harshita