Back into the fray we go with the latest updates on Blizzard and its attempt at damage control following the now notorious banning of professional Hearthstone player Blitzchung for his statement of “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age” on an official tournament stream.
While Blitzchung was certainly the player that took the most flak from Blizzard’s ban hammer, he wasn’t the only person to use their platform to make a political statement. Just a few hours after the announcement that Blitzchung would be banned for a year and stripped of his prize money, an American collegiate team playing in an official Hearthstone tournament held up a sign during the stream of their match that read “Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizzard”. Besides the camera cutting away very quickly and the rest of the tournament being streamed without face-cams, that was the end of it with Blizzard not saying anything about the incident.
As of last night though, Blizzard has decided they actually do care about what the collegiate team said during the stream and have officially banned the team from competing in Hearthstone tournaments for the next six months, effectively the same punishment received by Blitzchung after Blizzard revoked their previous ban of a year and returned his prize money. Despite being banned for their sign, I doubt the AU collegiate team are going to lose any sleep over it, given that they have already withdrawn from all upcoming Hearthstone tournaments in protests for what they see as Blizzard’s arbitrary enforcement of rules.
Casey “Xcelsior” Chambers wrote on Twitter that the team were expecting repercussions for their actions and had no regrets. “Nah bro. This one was pretty cut and dry. We knew what we were doing and expected the punishment. The problem was Blizzard ignoring our protest for PR reasons but going after Blitzchung”, tweeted Chambers.
Happy to announce the AU Hearthstone team received a six month ban from competition. While delayed I appreciate all players being treated equally and no one being above the rules. pic.twitter.com/mZStoF0e0t
— Casey Chambers (@Xcelsior_hs) October 16, 2019
Many have come out in praise of the collegiate team for protesting Blizzard’s harsh punishment of Blitzchung which has seen the company caught up in a PR nightmare. Earlier this week, Nintendo announced that Blizzard had formally cancelled the launch event of Overwatch on Switch, perhaps due to the threat of protests, and just a cursory glance at the assortment of Blizzard’s subreddits paints a grim picture of what the company can expect at their annual convention Blizzcon in just a couple of weeks.
Last Updated: October 17, 2019
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 17, 2019 at 14:59
Blizzard this time:
https://media.giphy.com/media/w4kOc3YbCNYti/giphy.gif
Llama In The Rift
October 17, 2019 at 16:54
https://media1.giphy.com/media/Retotj9V6EN0CNqwbb/giphy-downsized-medium.gif The Aftermath
Guz
October 17, 2019 at 17:23
Ka Pow!
Yozzie
October 17, 2019 at 14:37
I wonder if we are going to see the crowd allowed to do the Q and A panels this year at Blizzcon. I for one hope everyone wears a red shirt.
Guz
October 17, 2019 at 17:23
50 bucks says that it’s gonna be a rent a crowd and they wont do Q&A but do the presentations, get a round of applause and leave it at that, honestly It’s their best bet at this point
BradeLunner
October 17, 2019 at 14:37
Oohhh fun! Will it be streamed online? Certainly will be more entertaining than storm area 51
Yozzie
October 17, 2019 at 14:59
Unfortunately blizz monetizes everything so you can only watch the stream if you buy a digital Blizzcon ticket.
Scott Lee Clayton
October 17, 2019 at 15:11
Good, does everything have to be politicised now?, this isn’t about their cause it about Blizzard not wanting to turn their steams into a platform for political views. Dont we get enough, Trump, Brexit, protests everywhere in the media?, cant there be places that are free from this constant shit!
HvR
October 17, 2019 at 18:35
I had to the same opinion at first.
But as few people pointed out Blizzard has been all too happy to push political agendas on their own platforms when suits them.
Scott Lee Clayton
October 17, 2019 at 18:35
Such as?
HvR
October 17, 2019 at 18:38
When LBGTQI rights was on the forefront especially in gaming they used it extensively in marketing Overwatch.
Scott Lee Clayton
October 17, 2019 at 22:10
Not really political is it?
HairyEwok
October 18, 2019 at 13:32
Pretty much turns policital when you have parties going for it and against it.
Scott Lee Clayton
October 18, 2019 at 13:32
That’s outside of Blizzards control..
HvR
October 17, 2019 at 20:21
Think at this stage Blizzard hopes a new story breaks that EA is using underaged caged Indonesian children to handle their customer support.