Shlomo Sher

ALT The Corrupted Blood Incident, occurred in the MMORPG World of Warcraft in 2005. The incident began when a boss—Hakkar the Soulflayer—was added to the game. Players quickly discovered that a debuff called "Corrupted Blood" could be spread to other players through proximity. More insidiously, the Corrupted Blood debuff could spread beyond the boss arena. Within hours, Azeroth’s cities were covered in bones. The spread of the debuff caused widespread panic among players, disrupting gameplay and causing players to avoid infected areas. Misinformation and panic spread like wildfire. The incident revealed benign and malicious player behaviour. Some players exploited the situation by intentionally spreading the debuff, while others formed groups to combat the outbreak. For better or worse, the Crimson Blood Incident illustrates the potential for how virtual worlds serve as models for understanding human behavior in unexpected situations, such as crisis and pandemics.