Discord artists are visually dismembering the company's purple mascot, Wumpus, in increasingly violent and gruesome ways to protest its recently implemented age verification system. This artistic backlash began shortly after Discord's official X (formerly Twitter) account sarcastically referred to the changes as "extremely popular" amidst reports of early bugs.
The platform's original post, intended to announce updates, was met with nearly 10,000 replies, many of which featured fan art depicting Wumpus in extreme peril. These images range from Wumpus being subjected to historical torture methods like quartering to facing fantastical threats such as eldritch horrors, Broly from Dragon Ball, Sephiroth's Masamune, and packs of wolves.
This wave of protest art appears to be a direct response to user concerns regarding privacy, particularly in the wake of a significant data breach that occurred last year. Users have voiced frustration with Discord's approach to data security and its implementation of new verification measures, with some criticizing the platform for what they perceive as a shift towards a more corporate and less user-friendly identity.
One user responded to Discord's sarcastic tweet by stating, "If you want to be a serious grown-up data stealing company you can’t smol bean post anymore." Another commented, "Stop trying to quirk chungus your data harvesting scheme. We cannot stand your ass." The sentiment of sarcasm and distrust was echoed by many in the replies.
Shortly after the Wumpus-centric backlash gained traction, Discord posted an update indicating that bugs preventing access to age-restricted servers had been resolved. However, the company has yet to directly address the widespread user criticism and the violent artistic protests directed at its mascot.