Did Alex Afrasiabi Named in Blizzard Lawsuit Flee California and Find Refuge in Hawaii?

This week, one of Alex Afrasiabi’s Facebook friends and ex-Sony Online Entertainment developer named Doug “Eidroth” Cronkite alleges that the former Blizzard employee named in a state of California lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard, has left the woketopia of California and is now residing in the tropical paradise of Hawaii. He shared this news on the Fires of Heaven forums, which was the official MMO guild website of Afrasiabi’s EverQuest and World of Warcraft guild from 1999 and on.

For many years, Afrsaibi’s brash gaming persona “Furor” was admired by hardcore MMO players who felt marginalized and disenfranchised by apathetic video game studios. He was the Asmongold of his day speaking truth to power and he publicly called out Sony Online Entertainment’s CEO John Smedley who was in charge of the EverQuest MMO which won him the respect of the fans.

Cronkite goes on to claim that Afrasiabi left on his own accord and wasn’t forced out by Activision-Blizzard:

Perhaps Afrasiabi knew about the ongoing State of California investigation, saw the writing on the wall, and knew his career at Blizzard would be untenable going forward and fled to Hawaii before the WoW tokens hit the fan. Another forum poster reasoned that he probably moved to Hawaii as he had put his $2.5 million home in Newport Beach up for sale. Eventually, he may need the proceeds from the sale to pay for his legal defense.

Jeff Kaplan another ex-EverQuest guild leader and high profile Blizzard personality who helmed their Overwatch franchise, left Blizzard earlier this year. Incidentally, Jeff’s EverQuest character was named Tigole Bitties, which is anagram of Big ole Titties. Unlike Afrasiabi who left without even as much as a “goodbye” to WoW players, Kaplan publicly announced his departure on the Overwatch forums then abruptly vanished like donuts in in a police station.

One might speculate that Kaplan knew what was coming and decided he didn’t want to be collateral damage in the ensuing firestorm. Since leaving he has maintained strict radio silence and unlike some of the other top former management at Blizzard who have issued apologies to save their skins in the highly politicized video game industry, Jeff has yet to release a statement on the scandal.

Cronkite goes on to reveal that apparently Afrasiabi is quite wealthy after years of working on Blizzard’s World of Warcraft which entitles him to royalties:

While rank and file Blizzard employees are barely surviving living in outrageously expensive Orange county, old guard Blizzard employees have amassed fortunes that allows them to live like kings. Some have even purchased interest in NFL football teams with their Warcraft gold.

Despite all of the allegations made against Blizzard and Afrasiabi by the State of California and the media, it’s worth mentioning that in the United States everyone including Mr. Afrasiabi is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Since the troubling news of this lawsuit hit, I have been following various news and opinion sites with great interest. I have written a few articles on Alex Afrasiabi over the years and am currently working on a new opinion piece.


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