Blizzard Responds to Blitzchung Controversy: “China Had No Influence on Our Decision”

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President of Blizzard Entertainment J. Allen Brack has published a response to the ongoing debacle surrounding his company’s decision to suspend Hong Kong-based Hearthstone player Ng “blitzchung” Wai Chung, who voiced support for his countrymen’s protests against China during a post-game interview. Brack maintains the suspension was based purely on violation of tournament rules, and that Blizzard’s relationship with China had nothing to do with it.

He did admit that Blizzard could have “done better” and “reacted too quickly” in regards to blitzchung’s year-long suspension and termination of prize winnings, however. The publisher has opted to reverse the latter and reduce his suspension to six months.

Moving forward, we will continue to apply tournament rules to ensure our official broadcasts remain focused on the game and are not a platform for divisive social or political views. One of our goals at Blizzard is to make sure that every player, everywhere in the world, regardless of political views, religious beliefs, race, gender, or any other consideration always feels safe and welcome both competing in and playing our games.

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Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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