Wowhead

Wowhead is a website that provides a searchable database, internet forum, guides and player character services for the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. It is owned by Fanbyte (formerly known as ZAM Network[1]), a subsidiary of the Chinese company Tencent.[2][3]

Wowhead
Front page for Wowhead
Type of site
Searchable database
Available inEnglish, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese, Italian
OwnerFanbyte, Tencent
URLwww.wowhead.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationFree
LaunchedJune 26, 2006 (2006-06-26)
Current statusOnline

The site first started out as a talent calculator for the game. It was in beta from April 4 to June 25, 2006,[4] and the database was released on June 26, 2006.[5] Wowhead functions as a user generated database relying upon players of World of Warcraft themselves, although the information is uploaded automatically through a client-side program.

Client software is available for both the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh platforms.[6] Users can manually add comments to database items or discuss the items themselves in a moderated forum.[7] Comments placed on database items are moderated by the community themselves, with members having the option to "down-rank" outdated and unuseful posts to the point where they are purged, and "up-rank" posts of significance so that they are highlighted.[8] The database is automatically cross referenced by the software between items, non-player characters and zones or dungeons.[9]

Wowhead garnered some attention when it was purchased by Fanbyte (formerly known as ZAM Network[1]), a subsidiary of Affinity Media which formerly owned real-money trading firm IGE.[10] Fanbyte also owns other gaming and World of Warcraft information sites such as Thottbot and Allakhazam.[11]

On July 22, 2009, Wowhead announced that it would be offering its members access to premium service for a recurring subscription in order to help support the website. The premium service offers enhanced usage of the website, removes ads, grants a wider range of forum privileges, and allows paying members to skip to the front of the process queue for World of Warcraft player character information requests.[12][13]

In early 2019, it was announced that a new version of the site would be launched alongside the original, exclusively covering data for World of Warcraft Classic and, later, its Burning Crusade expansion. [14]

References
  1. About ZAM Network Retrieved April 2, 2019
  2. "Playsino aims to publish third-party social casino games". VentureBeat. 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  3. "Fanbyte Media Company Disclaimer Policy". Fanbyte. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  4. I might be one of Wowheads first members. - WoW General - Wowhead Forums
  5. Wowhead News. June 26, 2006.
  6. Schramm, Mike (2008-06-03). "Wowhead Warcraft database releases OS X client". The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW). AOL Media. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  7. "About Us - Wowhead". Wowhead.com. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  8. "Frequently Asked Questions". Wowhead.com.
  9. Gilbert, Dan; Whitehead, James; Whitehead, James II (2007). Hacking World of Warcraft. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-0-470-11002-7.
  10. Dobson, Jason (June 25, 2007). "Affinity's ZAM Network Acquires Wowhead, Confirms IGE Split". Gamasutra. United Business Media. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  11. "Thottbot Owner Acquires Wowhead". Edge Magazine. Future plc. June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  12. "Wowhead Premium announced". Wowhead.com. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  13. "Wowhead Premium features". Wowhead.com. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  14. "WoWHead News". MMoMonkey.com. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
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