Tracing the Evolution of Racial Ontology in the Warcraft Franchise

This paper analyzes the racial ontologies implied by the writing and gameplay of various entries in the Warcraft franchise of video games, tracing a chronological evolution from 1994's Warcraft to the most recent expansions for World of Warcraft (at the time of writing, 2024's The War Within ). Three distinct periods in the franchise's development are identified, each exhibiting a different ontology of race in its portrayal of the games’ fictional racial groups. Each period is analyzed independently, noting parallels with various historical and contemporary racial ontologies. The paper ultimately identifies a shift away from an essentialist ontology rooted in ideas of racial morality toward a postracial phase that lacks a coherent ontology of race. The positive and negative consequences of this change are considered.