World of Warcraft continues to pay tribute to Mats “Ibelin” Steen, the subject of the recent Netflix documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, this time transforming Steen’s character into a full-fledged NPC.
As spotted by Wowhead, dataminers have discovered an NPC by the name of Lord Ibelin Redmoore on the public test realm for the MMORPG’s upcoming 11.1 update. The NPC’s appearance matches Ibelin’s look in the documentary, though it’s currently unclear where players will be able to find Ibelin in-game or what he might have to say should players interact with him.
Steen suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and played WoW as a means of socializing and connecting with others. His character Ibelin, who he often roleplayed as, labeled himself as a private investigator and would use his in-game job title as a means to strike up conversation.
It’s not the first time Blizzard has paid tribute to Steen, who passed away in 2014. He is also honored in-game with a gravestone in Elwynn Forest. Blizzard more recently offered the Reven Pack, a bundle of cosmetics (including an adorable fox in a detective hat) inspired by Steen. All of the proceeds from the Reven Pack went to support the charity CureDuchenne.
In GameSpot’s The Remarkable Life of Ibelin review, we called the documentary (much of which is actually an animated film using WoW’s game engine) a “vivid rendition of a virtual life” and “a powerful real-life story on the positive impact gaming can have on people’s lives.”
As for what’s next for Blizzard’s MMO, the upcoming 11.1 update will go all-in on goblins while also introducing customizable hot rods for players to drive and drift their way through the game’s new Undermine zone. Blizzard recently announced as part of a Warcraft 30th anniversary steam that WoW will also finally be getting player housing, though players will have to wait until the game’s next expansion, Midnight, for the highly anticipated feature.
