Many of you know ChromieCraft as the progressive, pure experience you log into today. But what you may not know is that behind this realm lies 20+ years of passion, experimentation, and community-building.
The Early Days (2005–2009)
Back in 2005, a small group of passionate players started experimenting with home-hosted realms. Hosting servers on personal PCs, connected through Hamachi, we weren’t aiming for fame or money, just a place to roleplay and enjoy Azeroth in our own way. These were the roots of AzerothShard, a project that grew out of Talecraft and other early shards. We scripted our own content, created custom features, and built a small but vibrant roleplay community. It was already open source, even at those early times: https://github.com/Yehonal/wademu-hw2-repack (archived repo).
By 2006–2008, AzerothShard had evolved into one of the most creative RPG communities in Italy. From Classic (1.12) to TBC (2.4.3). We wrote unique scripts, designed custom systems, and hosted memorable events. It wasn’t even close to what people expect today, but it was full of passion. Eventually, in 2009, with university, jobs, and life catching up, we had to discontinue the project for a bit.
The Dream of Classic (2009–2014)
Even after AzerothShard’s first closure, the dream never really died. We experimented more with Classic frameworks when almost nobody else was doing it anymore, hoping to build a stable 1.12 experience long before any official idea of “Classic” was around. We set the foundations for the “-Zero” projects, a series of open source Classic initiatives that others later adopted, such as Nostalrius. This effort helped start the “classic” trend we are still experiencing today.
Some commits from 2009:
- TrinityZero (early work on TrinityZero): https://github.com/Yehonal/TrinityZero/commits/trunk/?after=528f6fffb6e8450d23b88dc4c36d850822956567+69
- MangosZero (first MangosZero commits): https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Acmangos%2Fmangos-classic+author%3Ayehonal&type=commits&p=12
The Rebirth (2015–2019)
In 2015, we came back with AzerothShard (Wotlk 3.3.5). This time with a more structured vision: a community-supported, open, multi-style project that blended blizzlike PvE with custom features and even Full-PvP. We set up a proper non-profit organization, built a stable staff of more than 10 people, and released many of the features that would later influence what we now call ChromieCraft.
In this era, we also launched AzerothCore, the highly customizable and fixed open-source framework that today powers many communities worldwide. AzerothCore became one of the most widely used open-source cores, reinforcing our community impact and sharing spirit. It was born from our desire to share, improve, and give back to the entire scene. It all started here (initial discussion thread): https://community.trinitycore.org/topic/12792-can-someone-explain-sunwellcore/?do=findComment&comment=79586
ChromieCraft and Today (2020–Now)
Around 2020, with the help of old friends and new allies, we laid the foundations of ChromieCraft. The mission was simple: having a 100% fully-working WotLK experience, from the ground up, building an international, non-profit, community-driven project where every cent goes back into development, fixes, and growth. No shortcuts, no pay-to-win, no tricks.
Today, ChromieCraft has grown into an international project, backed by years of experience, open-source contributions, and most importantly, by the passion of players and contributors who believe in the same values we started with: fair play, quality, and community.
Some of our biggest achievements
Over the years, together with AzerothCore, we have accomplished milestones that shaped the whole open-source scene, such as:
- Complete re-scripting of all raids and dungeons from Classic to TBC (including the Karazhan chess event, which worked correctly for the first time ever on AC/CC).
- Keira3, the modern web database and content tool created by Helias & Shin, now widely adopted.
- The modular architecture of AzerothCore, now with more than 200 active modules available in the public catalogue.
- Countless quality-of-life systems like SmartAI, Eluna integration, Triager workflow, and continuous test automation.
- The ChromieCraft progression model, which has been praised as one of the most transparent and fair implementations in the community.
- A thriving open-source ecosystem where fixes and features are shared with hundreds of other communities worldwide.
Independent stress tests from some of our adopters have verified that AzerothCore is capable of handling at least 15,000 concurrent players while remaining stable. This demonstrates the scalability of the framework and the dedication behind ChromieCraft.
Why We Do This
We consider ourselves as the artisans of this craft. We don’t see this as a business, but as something created with care, patience, and pride. Every bug we fix, every feature we polish, every event we host, it’s all done because we love this world and we want you to enjoy it as much as we did when we first discovered it.
We are not here to mass-produce or flood the scene with shiny but fragile content. Our goal is not to chase numbers, but to deliver a clean, reliable, and lasting experience. Some projects move fast and build big, but they burn resources and risk collapsing, leaving nothing behind once they close. We choose a different path: sustainable, open, and future-proof. Everything we create remains available to the community, ensuring that the effort of today will still matter tomorrow. This is why we take our time — because quality, transparency, and endurance are worth more than speed.
We’ll never be too big or too small – but always just right for our community and our dreams
For nearly two decades, we’ve been building, breaking, rebuilding, and perfecting. Each of us has poured countless hours, day and night, into this craft, and we are committed to continue doing so for the years to come. And we’re still here, stronger than ever, thanks to you, our players and supporters.
It doesn’t matter what the server is called, as long as everything we share remains public, the heritage of ChromieCraft will live forever.
This is ChromieCraft: built on passion, sustained by community, crafted for everyone.
Discover more from ChromieCraft
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.