Playing Across the Strait: Chinese WoW Diasporas on Taiwanese Servers
- Jun 16
- 1 min read
Xu, H. (2026, June). Playing Across the Strait: Chinese WoW Diasporas on Taiwanese Servers. In 17th Digital Games Research Association Conference (DiGRA 2026): Intersectional Pleasures.
This study shows that the Chinese WoW shutdown produced a digital diaspora marked by uncertainty, fractured social worlds, and cultural friction. At a broader level, this case highlights how regional identities, linguistic norms, and political histories travel with players across servers. The findings also point to the influential role of game companies. As online worlds continue to fragment and migrate, understanding these diasporic processes becomes essential for both game studies and developers managing cross-regional player communities.