Moving to Real ID is optional for players, according to Blizzard. The company will not require customers to use their Real ID to play Bizzard games like World of Warcraft and upcoming Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty. However, if one opts-in to using Real ID their real first and last name will be displayed not only to online friends, but to "friends of friends." That is, otherwise unconnected people are able to see one another's name solely through association to the same common person.
Here's how the anonymous poster describes the concern over the feature: "The ONLY thing I'm asking for is a simple checkbox for "share my full name with friends of friends". Maybe an option for "Hide my online status" so you can log on a game without all of your friends seeing you. I don't see why I should have far LESS privacy in an online video game (that shouldn't even be connected to my real life) than I do in real life. The issues are still very real, and Blizzard is eliminating entire classes of people from a soon-to-be-major component of the game... The only reason it's not that way is because, like the forum name debacle, Blizzard is intentionally trying to push something for some unknown reason."
Blizzard reiterated in its Friday announcement that its plans had not changed for games and that Real ID will enable communications functionality that will "make Battle.net a great place for players to stay connected to real-life friends and family while playing Blizzard games."game blog
Blizzard is working on an upcoming Massively Multiplayer Online game for which few details are known. When asked if there was a possibility a future game will require people to use their real identity to play, the company said "we haven't announced any plans along these lines." The fear of losing anonymity in online games is a real concern, "not paranoia," for people who don't want their interest in video games learned by employers or prospective, said Bonnie Nardi, an anthropology professor at UC Irvine and author of "My Life as a Night Elf Priest," a book about World of Warcraft written from the perspective of an anthropologist.horde leveling guide
