Ryan, the creator of this awesome mod just informed us that Activision has taken action against his YouTube video, and while many people saw this coming, this is just sad sad news. All that hard work for no payoff?! HEY ACTIVISION?! Do you see how well Gabe Newell and Valve are doing? Do you understand WHY they are doing so well? The Fans. LISTEN TO THEM!

Ryan’s email to us:

James, I’m not sure if my first message went through, it was pretty long, but Activision just took action against the video. Can you believe this man? They put out a tool to let us do anything and then shut us down when we get too good with it?

We’ll update this post as we get more information.

More updates past the break, plus another source of the video. If you want a piece of fan modding history saved in your hard drive, download the YouTube flick past the break before it gets taken down. We will have a one-on-one chat with Ryan tomorrow to see if this is just a naming problem or something more.

Update – We have contacted Blizzard. We’ll let you know if we receive word on this story.

Update #2 – Ryan tried to email Blizzard. Riot Games wants him. More after the break.

Update #3 – Riot Games tossed him a ball. Blizzard has respond to Ryan directly. More after the break.

Update #4 – Ryan explains what happend.

From the World of Starcraft Mod Forums:

So. Youtube just sent me this message. Apparently Blizzard is not happy. They threw the copyright hammer at me. I don’t know what to think right now.

Bottom Line. If Blizzard/Activision doesn’t want this to happen then it won’t. This game HAS to be pumped through the veins of battle.net to work. I hope and pray that we can come to an understanding here. If they want the name changed then I’ll change it. Read more

This is why we cannot have good things. We are really hoping for the best for Ryan and his project mod. Ryan is being hopeful that this is just something with a trademark or name conflict. and that this issue will be resolved quickly. Others are speculating that Blizzard’s rumored next-gen MMO could be the actual World of Starcraft, hence the quick response and removal of video.

We’ll keep you all posted with any information we get.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roIOpHq0vUc[/youtube]

Ryan finally got a response from Blizzard. It wasn’t the type he was looking for:

Greetings, Thank you for thinking of Blizzard Entertainment. However, the Account & Technical Services department does not have access to the information or the contacts you are looking for. Please direct all inquiries/proposals via mail to: Blizzard Entertainment

PO Box 18979

Irvine, CA 92623 Your inquiry will be directed to the correct department. Sincerely,

Peter M.

Customer Services

Blizzard Entertainment

www.blizzard.com/support

My Hours:

Tue – Sat

9:00AM – 5:00PM Central Time

BUT, “epak” from RiotGames is offering Ryan a job. See? For every cloudy day follows sunshine.

Ryan, I’d like to speak with you about potentially working for Riotgames (League of Legends). You can contact me directly at epak@riotgames.com since I think you’re awesome.

Zileas, Design Director of RiotGames, has confirmed this on thier forums:

When I see a modder with a lot of drive that has done something cool, I tend to contact them. I shot him an email recently asking if he was interested in exploring an opportunity here. As to what comes of that, who knows — that depends on the mutual fit and his own goals.

Just got an email from Ryan. Damn, I feel warm and fuzzy inside now. Go and follow that dream, Ryan.

I would be a complete idiot not to… I’ve waited my whole life for something like this. I feel like I’m in a dream man… been up for 36 hours straight with all this craziness going on… How did this even happen? My thanks to your entire staff.. You guys played a part in something that may change my life of sitting in this crappy chair forever.

Day #2 of this story and we have received word from “epak”, of Riot Games, that the “ball is in his court.” We haven’t heard word back from Ryan if he has taken that offered position or not. Ryan did post, however, in his forums that

I just spoke with a Blizzard official, and the issue is being worked on. Because of the sensitive nature of what’s going on, I’m going to wait until the dust has settled to comment further.

Sensitive nature, Blizzard? How sensitive could this be really? On one side it is just a mod made from the tool you gave with a purchase of your game. Well, besides the fact that it would have been a huge and very creative one. On the other, maybe this is what the rumored next-gen MMO could be based on? We’ll post any more updates when we get them.

We tried to have an IM chat interview with Ryan tonight but he couldn’t make it due to “something personal.” We wish Ryan the best and hope that this exposure gets him closer to his dream.