Few controversies have the pull to remain a mainstay of the fast-changing news cycle that defines modern gaming news. Yet, nearly a week on from the moment that sparked the whole debacle, the story of Blizzard kowtowing to Chinese pressure continues to evolve thick and fast.
But how did we get here? A slew of statements from players and casters, a succession of questionable actions on Blizzard’s part, and industry figures sharing their take; the chain of events is a lot to digest. Here’s a concise breakdown of everything that’s happened so far.
Sunday, October 6 – Hearthstone Pro’s Live Stream Protest
Hearthstone pro player, Chung ‘Blitzchung ‘Ng Wai, appears on the official Hearthstone Grand Masters live stream in a post-game interview sporting a gas mask to protest Chinese repression and calls for the liberation of Hong Kong.
Monday, October 7 – Blizzard’s Draconian Response
Blizzardreleases a statement expelling Blitzchung from the tournamenton the official Hearthstone web site, rescinding his $ 10, 000 prize money earnings, and slapping him with a one year ban from competitive play. The gaming giant announces it would no longer be working with the casters hosting the stream. It disables comments on the post.
Tuesday, October 8 – #BoycottBlizzard
# BoycottBlizzard trends on Twitter as criticism becomes widespread. Onlookers vow to boycott Blizzard games withmany canceling subscriptionsto World of Warcraft andrefunding pre-orders for upcoming titlessuch as Warcraft III: Reforged.
The Blizzard subreddit isclosed temporarily in light of the backlashby a rogue moderator. Alongside, users flood subreddits for Blizzard titles, including Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone, with posts denouncing Blizzard.
Members of the collegiate American University Hearthstone team hold up a sign reading ‘Free Hong Kong , Boycott Blizz ‘in support Blitzchung during an official Blizzard TeSPA tournament live stream. Blizzard suspends post-game interviews for the length of the Collegiate Championship.
U.S. Senators, Ron Wyden and Marc Rubiocomment on events.The latter says;
China using access to market as leverage to crush free speech globally. Implications of this will be felt long after everyone in U.S. politics today is gone.
Wednesday, October 9 – Growing Support
Official Blizzard account on Chinese social media platform Weibocondemns Blitzchung’s actionsand vows to ‘always respect and defend the pride of our country. ‘
Ex-Blizzard employee and World of Warcraft designer, Mark Kern, criticizes Blizzard andbacks boycott movement. A group ofBlizzard employees stages walkoutat the company’s Irvine, California, campus. Hearthstone caster, Brian Kilber, announceshe will no longer host Blizzon Grandmasterfinals in protest.
Epic Games and Tim Sweeney, in hisusual gutsy manner,announce they won’t ban or punish Fortnite playersor content creators for speaking out on political issues.
Overwatch character, Mei, depicted as a protestor wearing a face mask, becomes asymbol of Hong Kong protests.
Thursday, October 10 – Hypocrisy and Protest
It emerges that Blizzard will not penalize American University for their actions during TeSPA live stream. The teamopts to forfeit the remainder of the seasonto highlight hypocrisy.
Nathan ‘Admirable’ Zamoraannounces he won’t be a part of the caster teamfor the rest of the Grandmaster’s season.
Blizzard announces it is ‘assessing the situation’in light of the massive backlash.
This article was edited bySamburaj Das.
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