Forced name change

#0 - Aug. 12, 2010, 5:53 p.m.

I know someone who recently had a "inactive" character receive a forced name change from Blizzard. The only notification she got was an email stating that the character name she chose was in high demand and that her character, since it hadn't been played in a certain amount of time, was renamed as <name>xyz.

Is that really the policy now? I know they have paid name changes and such, but I have plenty of old characters on another server that I would like to have around in case I want to play them. Do I have to log in every now and then with them just to make sure Blizzard doesn't sell their name to the highest bidder?

Vrakthris

#28 - Aug. 13, 2010, 2:17 a.m.

Q u o t e:
In any case, it would be nice to get some clarification on the issue. :)

We also recognize that it is sometimes difficult to come up with a unique name and the name a person may want could be used by another character though not necessarily "in use" by another player. There are times, in very special circumstances, in which we may choose to make that name available.

This is not done lightly, as we hold to the belief that in most cases a selected name should remain with the person who selected it. However, if a specific criteria is fulfilled we may make the name available for use to another who requests it.

This mostly applies to dormant or inaccessible accounts, and for relatively low level characters.