Earlier this month,World of WarcraftreleasedExploring Azeroth: Kalimdor, the second in a series of books exploring the iconic realms of the game’s world. After being met with criticism regarding reliance on racial stereotyping, poor characterization, and lore discrepancies,Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdoris now unavailable on most online retailers until January 25.
The Exploring Azerothbooks are a new series of atlas-like, in-universe chronicles of recent events ofWorld of Warcraft. The first,Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms, released a year ago, and followed Alliance spymaster Matthias Shaw and his lover, Flynn Fairwind.Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdorfollows Horde champion and beastmaster Rexxar and Zekhan, the young Darkspear troll ambassador known to many Warcraft fans as “Zappy Boi.”
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WhileThe Eastern Kingdomswas a well-received romp through the lore of the continent,fans who got their hands onExploring Azeroth: Kalimdorwere disappointed. The book was full of inconsistencies in both lore and characterization, and it relied heavily on racist stereotypes sometimes associated with many cultures found within the Horde. Days after its official release, the book was made unavailable once more, with many pre-ordered copies not having reached their destinations.
This is not the first timeExploring Azeroth: Kalimdorwas delayed. The book was originally slated to release in October, but Blizzard pushed its launch back a few days before it was supposed to be released. This time, many fans already got their hands on the book before the silent delay, leaving many wondering what is in store for the book.
Many fans hope this meansWorld of Warcraftis fixing the egregious errors in content and concept withinExploring Azeroth: Kalimdor. A book filled with antisemitism and racist caricatures of various cultures was not what the company needed–especially right now, withBlizzard mired in myriad controversies over sexual harassment and discrimination. With luck, this quiet delay is to rewrite, or at least censor, the inappropriate and harmful content from the book, and to fix the multiple continuity errors that appear within–a perplexing mistake, given it was overseen byWarcraftloremaster Sean Copeland.
Blizzard has yet to make a statement on why publication of the book has been delayed, however. Since the publishing industry is experiencing disruptions in its supply chain from lingering shortages from the coronavirus pandemic, this delay could be caused by circumstances out of Blizzard’s control. Until fans of the game can receive copies of the book again, they will have to speculate as to whether or notWorld of Warcraftwill take this opportunity to fix the mistakesit made within the atlas, or if it will be distributed in the same, flawed condition.
World of Warcraftis available now on PC.World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: Kalimdorwill be available on July 25, 2025.
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