Ozzy Osbourne’s death shook the world. Tributes poured in from musicians, actors, athletes—even Coldplay paused their Nashville show to cover “Changes.” But in the swirl of global grief, one corner of the internet had a very specific request:
Put the Ozzman in World of Warcraft.
Shortly after the 76-year-old Black Sabbath legend passed away on Tuesday, July 22, WoW took to X (formerly Twitter) with a tribute only the gaming gods could deliver.
“RIP @OzzyOsbourne – the original Prince of Darkness. A voice that echoed like thunder across worlds, a spirit too wild for just one realm. Azeroth salutes you,” the post read.
From there, the comments took off.
“Make an ‘Ozzy Osboune’ NPC, the Prince of Darkness deserves it!” one fan demanded.
“We need a statue or something of him in game to honor him!!” another said.
“Need to add an epic tribute to the Ozzman, something befitting the prince of darkness may he rock in peace,” a third chimed in.
“I second everyone here, he should have an epic NPC,” someone else added.
And it wasn’t just social media. Over on Blizzard’s official forums, one player laid out a full tribute concept: “Blizzard should create an Ozzy Osbourne memorial. It should be a tombstone at the Darkmoon Faire. If players kneel at the tombstone, they get an Achievement ‘Dark Side of Moon’ that awards a toy and a title. The toy should be a replica of the throne Ozzy used at his final concert earlier this month; and the title should be ‘Prince/Princess of Darkness.’”
That thread quickly gained traction—and for good reason. Ozzy’s relationship with WoW runs deep. Back in 2008, he starred in a Wrath of the Lich King commercial as an undead warlock, challenging the Lich King for the title of “Prince of Darkness.” That ad helped introduce a whole new audience to the game and it eventually led to Ozzy headlining BlizzCon 2009.
Was he a gamer? Not exactly. “To be honest with you, I don’t [play World of Warcraft],” Ozzy told IGN at the time. “I’m very computer dumb… But it’s the future, you know.”
That didn’t stop him from showing up, rocking out, and charming the audience anyway. “I didn’t know if I’d run into a bunch of computer nerds with big glasses looking at me quietly, you know,” he said. “But when I got up there, it was a great vibe—I can read the vibe, you know, and I could tell all these things were going well. It was overwhelming, man.”
In the days since his death, WoW players have honored him in their own ways. Some gathered for a memorial walk from Undercity to Deathknell in Classic WoW. Others traveled to the top of Icecrown Citadel to hold their own moments of silence.
Technically, there’s already a nod to Ozzy in the game: a Necrolord NPC named Osbourne Black, introduced in Shadowlands. Whether that was intentional or just a coincidence is unclear, but fans are asking for something more explicit. Something permanent.
It wouldn’t be the first time Blizzard honored someone this way. After Robin Williams passed in 2014, the company added an NPC named Robin to Nagrand—a clear tribute, complete with Genie-style quotes and an ethereal blue glow.
