The Virtual Plague That Nearly Wiped Out The World of Warcraft

In September of 2005, the infamous Corrupted Blood plague swept through World of Warcraft and quickly became a full-blown a virtual pandemic.

The epidemic began with the introduction of Hakkar the Soulflayer who when attacked would cast a hit point-draining debuff called "Corrupted Blood" on players. While the spell, was supposed to only last for a few seconds and function only within the new area of Zul'Gurub, an oversight by the developers allowed pets and minions to take the affliction out of the raid zone.

Chapters

0:00 The corrupted blood incident

1:36 The epidemic spreads

3:24 Player reactions and aftermath

4:46 Real world research