Viral raccoon Jimothy is officially joining World of Warcraft
The internet's favorite spinal-issue raccoon from Seattle is heading to Azeroth as an official in-game addition, after relentless fan demand pushed Blizzard to make it happen.
Seattle’s most famous raccoon is going to Azeroth
If you have spent any time online in recent months, you have almost certainly encountered Jimothy. The Seattle raccoon became a viral sensation thanks to a spinal issue that left him noticeably shorter and more compact than your average trash panda. The internet, predictably, lost its mind over him. Memes spread. Fan art followed. Modders got to work.
Now Blizzard is making it official. On July 24, the World of Warcraft account posted on X with the message, “You asked, Jimothy answered. Coming soon to Azeroth,” alongside a short clip of the raccoon running through the game’s world and a render showing his in-game model. According to reporting by Dexerto, the announcement came just under a week after WoW teased the news with an image of Jimothy rendered in the classic World of Warcraft art style.
The response from fans was, to put it mildly, enthusiastic.
Fans have been loud and clear about what they want
The comments section after the original tease told the whole story. “Please make this an actual pet in game. I will go f**king feral for Jimothy, please,” wrote one player, as reported by Dexerto. Another asked Blizzard to “make him a battle pet, and a big Jim for a mount,” while someone else floated the idea of a druid transformation. The players have opinions, and they are not keeping them quiet.
Blizzard has not confirmed exactly what form Jimothy will take inside the game. No release date has been announced either. Given the fan response and the nature of the announcement, a battle pet seems like the most probable landing spot, though Blizzard has stayed quiet on specifics for now.
From mod subject to official NPC, Jimothy keeps leveling up
What makes the WoW news feel earned is the path Jimothy took to get here. He was not manufactured by a marketing team. He was a real animal filmed going about his life in Seattle, and the internet genuinely fell for him. Modders brought him into Skyrim and Stardew Valley because fans wanted to see him there, not because anyone asked them to. Dungeons and Dragons went a step further and made him an official NPC, as Dexerto has previously reported.
World of Warcraft becoming the latest stop on Jimothy’s tour is a natural next chapter. WoW has a long history of pulling from real-world cultural moments and folding them into Azeroth in ways that feel like fan service in the best sense. A small, beloved raccoon with a distinctive silhouette is exactly the kind of thing that works as a battle pet players will genuinely want to collect.
Blizzard has not said when players can expect to see Jimothy in-game, so the wait continues. But for a raccoon who started out as a clip filmed on a Seattle street, getting an official announcement from one of the biggest MMOs in history is a pretty remarkable trajectory.
Who is Jimothy the raccoon?
Jimothy is a raccoon who went viral after being filmed in Seattle. Due to a spinal issue, his body is noticeably shorter and smaller than a typical raccoon, which gave him a distinctive look that spawned widespread affection and a wave of internet memes.
How is Jimothy appearing in World of Warcraft?
Blizzard announced on July 24, 2026 that Jimothy is coming to World of Warcraft, sharing a short video of the raccoon running inside the game along with a rendered image of his in-game look. No specific release date has been given, and the exact form he will take has not been confirmed, though a battle pet seems most likely.
Has Jimothy appeared in other games before?
Yes. Before the official WoW announcement, Jimothy had made his way into Skyrim and Stardew Valley through fan-made mods, and Dungeons and Dragons made him an official NPC. Various other games had fan-created adaptations reimagining his unique look in their art styles.