During the live stream of Hearthstone tournament, professional e-sport player Blitzchung used the moment to speak out in support of the protests in Hong Kong. He also wore a gas mask and goggles like protestors. Chung shouted in Chinese, “Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our age.” This statement was followed by the stream cutdown and taking measures towards the player.
Blizzard banned Blitzchung from Hearthstone competition games for one year and forced to give back his tournament $10,000 winnings. The reason for the decision was a violation of Section 6.1 of the tournament’s rules, which prohibits players from doing anything that “offends a portion or group of the public.”
“There are serious protests in my country now,” Blitzchung said, “My call on stream was just another form of participation of the protest that I wish to grab more attention.”
Yet there are no official statements from the company, but fans and some of Blizzard employees are massively condemning actions taken against the player. #BoycotBlizzard is one of the most trending hashtags on the internet right now. Blizzard has deleted the video from its services and ignores requests to comment on the situation. Meanwhile, Blizzard customers are boycotting the corporation by canceling subscriptions and deleting games, until Blizzard allows Blitzchung to play again, give back his prize money and apologize for their actions.
A bold example of how corporations use bifacial attitude against their own players, limiting freedom of speech in the first place, which puts some games under the censorship.
Blizzard banned Blitzchung from Hearthstone competition games for one year and forced to give back his tournament $10,000 winnings. The reason for the decision was a violation of Section 6.1 of the tournament’s rules, which prohibits players from doing anything that “offends a portion or group of the public.”
“There are serious protests in my country now,” Blitzchung said, “My call on stream was just another form of participation of the protest that I wish to grab more attention.”
Yet there are no official statements from the company, but fans and some of Blizzard employees are massively condemning actions taken against the player. #BoycotBlizzard is one of the most trending hashtags on the internet right now. Blizzard has deleted the video from its services and ignores requests to comment on the situation. Meanwhile, Blizzard customers are boycotting the corporation by canceling subscriptions and deleting games, until Blizzard allows Blitzchung to play again, give back his prize money and apologize for their actions.
A bold example of how corporations use bifacial attitude against their own players, limiting freedom of speech in the first place, which puts some games under the censorship.