The hugely popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft is to pay tribute to actor Robin Williams by including a reference to him in their game.

Robin Williams
Williams pictured in September 2013

An online petition was created in the wake of Williams' death asking World of Warcraft's creators, Blizzard Entertainment, to pay an in-game tribute to the actor, who was a fan of the video game series. The staff had earlier sent a tribute to Williams from their official Twitter account.

World of Warcraft is noted for paying tribute to fans of the game that have passed away, often with in-game statues or non-playable characters. The game's lead designer Ion Hazzikostas has said a character will be based either on Williams himself or one of his many memorable roles. 

The game is played by over six million people globally, and has a raft of celebrity fans, many of whom have appeared in its memorable advertising campaigns, such as Mr. T, William Shatner, Ozzy Osbourne and Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza. There are a multitude of pop-culture references within the game itself. 

Williams had often spoken of his love for video games, most recently in an 'Ask Me Anything' on internet forum Reddit, and even named his daughter after the heroine in Nintendo's 'Legend of Zelda' series. "It's a sweet name and really kinda fits her, she's really kinda magical," he once said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon. He recently featured in a sweet advert for the Nintendo 3DS and 'Legend of Zelda: Four Swords' game alongside his daughter.

Blizzard has also just announced the release of World of Warcraft's new expansion pack, 'Warlords of Draenor'.

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