Mitsubishi Motors has bailed on Blizzard due to its “Free Hong Kong” gamer ban, which continues to haunt the publisher. The car giant ended its sponsorship just two days after Hearthstone player Chung Ng Wai was banned for expressing support for Hong Kong protesters. It’ll be interesting to see whether other sponsors, such as a Coca-Cola and ASUS, follow suit.
Coca-Cola and the computer manufacturer ASUS, which sponsor the collegiate Hearthstone league, did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for the livestreaming company Twitch said “nothing has changed” about the company’s relationship to the collegiate league. Three collegiate players protested Blizzard’s treatment of Chung during an official broadcast and were later suspended for their conduct.