Fix: The initial configuration of this article stated that the offensive message was written by a KingsIsle employee. KingsIsle later revealed that an outside actor unrelated to the company accessed his Wizard101 broadcast system and sent the message. We have updated the story to reflect this new information.
Thousands of users joined the 2008 youth MMO subreddit Wizard 101 (opens in new tab) We’ve shared screenshots of official server messages pushed to players, including jokes, profanity, and complaints about low wages at developer KingsIsle. The message was written from the point of view of a dissatisfied employee, Kings Isle Announced (opens in new tab) Via the game’s forums, he believes, “an outside party initiated the message in an unconventional way of accessing the broadcast system.”
According to the developer’s official support account twitter (opens in new tab)the game’s servers went offline Friday night and returned early Saturday morning. .
Wow, what a tragic one.It’s user-friendly yellow bit (opens in new tab) at r/Wizard101. Some other messages are similarly brief and direct. “this game is shit (opens in new tab),” another message shared by user jakeofsteel.
Some characterize a deeply compromised relationship between theoretical employees and KingsIsle management.user Sneaky (opens in new tab) We have shared a collection of server messages complaining about KingsIsle’s salary and working conditions. My favorite is “The next life is the boss’s ass bastard”. An incredible poem for that person. From “BRADLEY COME DOWN TO THE OFFICE THIS INSTANT -the ceo” Disco_Potato_Go (opens in new tab) is pretty good too.
Some messages are relatively pointless trolls. A fan favorite on the subreddit appears to be a snippet of Walter White’s dialogue on Breaking Bad. Riddikuglu (opens in new tab)Another is to advise players that there is no in-game currency payout.
After pausing the server, Kings Isle Issues Statement (opens in new tab) The forum clarifies the origin of the offending message and claims the hackers never accessed other systems. As compensation for affected players, the developer has activated a paid premium her membership bonus for all her Wizard101 accounts for the remainder of the month.
I definitely sympathize with KingsIsle employees dealing with this major headache, but the message itself remains joy to me. Seeing them in Wizard101’s house font, Comic Sans, is especially sad. Hating the infamous font is a bit gauche in the year of the Lord 2022, but it still really adds to the effect here.
The forceful simplicity of “Dick and Ball” is my favorite, if not for the haunting despair of “The next world is my boss’s asshole.” That feels like disco his Elysium graffiti. All’s well that ends well, see you in the next world.
