The car manufacturer has officially pulled funding from Blizzard’s esports events in retaliation to the punishment of professional Hearthstone player Blitzchung following his support for the Hong Kong protests.
In what has been maybe the biggest PR nightmare I’ve seen unfold in a long time, beloved developer/publisher Blizzard Entertainment has taken another hit as a result of their harsh punishment of Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai following his declaration of “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our age!” during a post-match interview. The company has received a tremendous amount of backlash following their controversial decision to ban Blitzchung from professional Hearthstone play and rescind all his prize money, a decision that has been walked back following the outcry.
It wasn’t just Blizzard’s fans and supporters that were up in arms, this whole thing reached a level I doubt anyone would have imagined with the American congress even writing a letter to Blizzard expressing concern over their actions and now it’s come out that Mitsubishi Motors, a long-time sponsor for Blizzard’s esports events, has pulled all funding from the company. Spokesperson for Mitsubishi Erica Rasch confirmed that the car manufacturer has ended its relationship with Blizzard a mere two days after the banning of Blitzchung.
Blizzard has said nothing about this loss of sponsorship and Mitsubishi has clearly been keeping it under wraps given that the decision to pull funding was made so quickly after the initial incident which just gets me wondering if there are any other sponsors that have quietly stepped away from Blizzard. It will be interesting to see the sorts of brands associating with World of Warcraft developer at Blizzcon this weekend despite warnings of a full-scale protest of the company’s events. Whatever happens, it’ll be an important weekend for Blizzard as many are wondering what their response to the public outcry will be in between the supposed announcements of Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.
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Last Updated: October 30, 2019
Original Heretic
October 30, 2019 at 15:29
Aw, aw shame. Poor Blizzard getting the cold shoulder from everyone now, huh?
Pariah
October 30, 2019 at 16:02
Genuinely still believe it’s a massive overreaction. They deserved some of it, but not this kind of blowout.
HvR
October 30, 2019 at 16:02
At the start I felt the same as you.
After seeing how much they played Freedom!! Every voice matters!!! etc etc cards in the past.
You know what they brought this on themselves.
Pariah
October 30, 2019 at 16:17
Some of this? Yes. But not all of it. The massive furor over this is far beyond what is reasonable. It’s genuinely seen more media attention and hatred and condemnation than what caused Blitzchung to speak out in the first place. Hong Kong, and China’s government. Everyone alludes to it, but nothing more.
It’s ironic, people all calling Blizzard out for “being political” and “punishing” blizzard by “being political”. Fight fire with fire? Does that really work? If two countries bomb each other, nobody wins, whether there’s a “victor” declared or not.
Blizzard, in my honest opinion, is just the “fall guy”. Blizzard, while deserving of some ire for the way they handled it, don’t deserve to be treated as if they’re the ones committing the crimes in China. Blizzard is the outlet that people are willing to fight against. But not China. Those same people who decry Blizzard for NOT fighting China, aren’t prepared to step up and do the same, in the public domain. If they were, they’d already be doing it instead of running around on Twitter or comments sections shouting angry things at a scapegoat – Blizzard.
~Edit: and I should note – I’m not backing Blizzard up here. I think their actions were dubious, and they’ve not been upfront. And they definitely deserved some backlash. *some*.
Pariah
October 30, 2019 at 16:17
Some of this? Yes. But not all of it. The massive furor over this is far beyond what is reasonable. It’s genuinely seen more media attention and hatred and condemnation than what caused Blitzchung to speak out in the first place. Hong Kong, and China’s government. Everyone alludes to it, but nothing more.
It’s ironic, people all calling Blizzard out for “being political” and “punishing” blizzard by “being political”. Fight fire with fire? Does that really work? If two countries bomb each other, nobody wins, whether there’s a “victor” declared or not.
Blizzard, in my honest opinion, is just the “fall guy”. Blizzard, while deserving of some ire for the way they handled it, don’t deserve to be treated as if they’re the ones committing the crimes in China. Blizzard is the outlet that people are willing to fight against. But not China. Those same people who decry Blizzard for NOT fighting China, aren’t prepared to step up and do the same, in the public domain. If they were, they’d already be doing it instead of running around on Twitter or comments sections shouting angry things at a scapegoat – Blizzard.
~Edit: and I should note – I’m not backing Blizzard up here. I think their actions were dubious, and they’ve not been upfront. And they definitely deserved some backlash. *some*.
Original Heretic
October 30, 2019 at 16:45
It’s a testament to how fickle modern business is.
Blizzard has an incredible track record. Apart from their recent mobile misstep, they’ve been riding rather high.
One nasty faux pax and look what’s happened. They alienated fans and sponsors alike.
G8crasha
October 30, 2019 at 17:44
I’ll allow it!
G8crasha
October 30, 2019 at 15:29
Blizzard must be scrambling around trying to ensure BlizzCon goes off without a hitch this weekend!
Llama In The Rift
October 30, 2019 at 15:29
https://media2.giphy.com/media/NdKVEei95yvIY/giphy-downsized-medium.gif When Blizzard speaks to the press about their sponsors and BlizzCon
HvR
October 30, 2019 at 15:30
Must be like a Lancer to heart for Blizzard
Dresden
October 30, 2019 at 15:44
“Mitsubishi leaves Blizzard in the dust…” – much like how Darryn left his controller in the dust!
Pariah
October 30, 2019 at 15:44
*Much like Darryn left Tali to bite the dust.
justlikemo
October 30, 2019 at 17:46
which Tali, Tali Zorah?
Dresden
October 30, 2019 at 18:03
Yes. ?
Dresden
October 30, 2019 at 18:03
Yes. ?
justlikemo
October 31, 2019 at 07:58
Tali Rocks, still does
For the Emperor!
October 30, 2019 at 17:46
He will never live this down…the cliff…
Kromas
October 30, 2019 at 16:02
I like this. They need to be put in their place. They can lootbox and macro-transaction their games as much as they want as it only affect gamers and eventually will hurt their bottom line. But controlling people around the worlds free speech is beyond despicable.
Admiral Chief
October 30, 2019 at 16:02
You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become Bethesda
BradeLunner
October 30, 2019 at 17:18
Interesting stance by a Japanese company? May I just use this platform to say can we please have the Evo 11
HairyEwok
October 31, 2019 at 08:33
Not to worry for Blizzard they will probably get a new sponsor from China.