Published , by Asif Khan
Published , by Asif Khan
Update, Oct. 8, 4:03 PM: It appears that several Blizzard employees have expressed disagreements with the actions Blizzard has taken.
Additionally, Blizzard has now made its subreddit private.
Original story: Blizzard has announced the suspension of blitzchung from Hearthstone Grandmasters. This follows a post-game interview during which the young Hearthstone player called for Hong Kong liberation. Blizzard has also rescinded all of his prize money from the competition. Rod Breslau was on point with the statement captured directly from Blizzard.
Breslau also reports that Blizzard has fired the two casters who ducked behind their desk during the interview. Neither of them knew what blitzchung was going to say, but they are also now fired. In case you missed blitzchung's call for the liberation of Hong Kong during the Hearthstone Grandmasters post-game interview, please take a look.
Activision Blizzard is a publicly traded company that has a lot of ties to China. Tencent owns nearly 5% of the company, and many of the Blizzard esports leagues are active in the region. Overwatch League and Hearthstone have a large presence in China, and Blizzard clearly doesn't want to risk the relationships they have built with the Communist Party.
The official competition rules v1.4 p.12 Section 6.1 (o) do give Blizzard the leeway to impose these penalties. "Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard's sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard's image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player's prize total to $0 USD."
We are seeing several instances of free speech putting companies in trouble with China this past week, with the NBA's Houston Rockets GM Darryl Morey having to delete a pro-Hong Kong tweet. The NBA issued an apology, and China has still gone forward with cancelling a G League game featuring Houston Rockets affiliate team the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. South Park even dealt with the topic last week.
China is big money in the entertainment business, and that is very apparent with how Activision Blizzard is handling their brand messaging in the communist country. blitzchung's statement and suspension comes as the protests in Hong Kong continue, and these stories are likely to continue to pop up. Keep it locked on Shacknews for more news from the frontlines of the trade war.