Taking a page from politicians and businesses that know late on Friday is the best time to release news that you are positively ashamed to share, Blizzard has finally issued a statement about the recent ban on Blitzchung and two Hearthstone casters.
Before we get into it all, let's just read what they have to say. Here is Blizzard's full statement as it currently appears on their website.
Hello Blizzard Community . . .
I want to take a few minutes to talk to all of you about the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament this past weekend. On Monday, we made the decision to take action against a player named blitzchung and two shoutcasters after the player shared his views on what’s happening in Hong Kong on our official broadcast channel.
At Blizzard, our vision is “to bring the world together through epic entertainment.†And we have core values that apply here: Think Globally; Lead Responsibly; and importantly, Every Voice Matters, encouraging everybody to share their point of view. The actions that we took over the weekend are causing people to question if we are still committed to these values. We absolutely are and I will explain.
Our esports programs are an expression of our vision and our values. Esports exist to create opportunities for players from around the world, from different cultures, and from different backgrounds, to come together to compete and share their passion for gaming. It is extremely important to us to protect these channels and the purpose they serve: to bring the world together through epic entertainment, celebrate our players, and build diverse and inclusive communities.
As to how those values apply in this case:
First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world.
Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts?
Third, were our actions based on the content of the message?
OK, what could Blizzard have done better, and where do we go from here?
But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. When we think about the suspension, six months for blitzchung is more appropriate, after which time he can compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast.
With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well.
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.
At Blizzard, we are always listening and finding ways to improve—it is part of our culture. Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to learn.
Sincerely,
J. Allen Brack
President of Blizzard Entertainment
I want to take a few minutes to talk to all of you about the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament this past weekend. On Monday, we made the decision to take action against a player named blitzchung and two shoutcasters after the player shared his views on what’s happening in Hong Kong on our official broadcast channel.
At Blizzard, our vision is “to bring the world together through epic entertainment.†And we have core values that apply here: Think Globally; Lead Responsibly; and importantly, Every Voice Matters, encouraging everybody to share their point of view. The actions that we took over the weekend are causing people to question if we are still committed to these values. We absolutely are and I will explain.
Our esports programs are an expression of our vision and our values. Esports exist to create opportunities for players from around the world, from different cultures, and from different backgrounds, to come together to compete and share their passion for gaming. It is extremely important to us to protect these channels and the purpose they serve: to bring the world together through epic entertainment, celebrate our players, and build diverse and inclusive communities.
As to how those values apply in this case:
First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world.
We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together.
Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong—in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.
Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves. However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game.
Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong—in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.
Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves. However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game.
Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts?
We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players.
Third, were our actions based on the content of the message?
Part of Thinking Globally, Leading Responsibly, and Every Voice Matters is recognizing that we have players and fans in almost every country in the world. Our goal is to help players connect in areas of commonality, like their passion for our games, and create a sense of shared community.
The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision.
We have these rules to keep the focus on the game and on the tournament to the benefit of a global audience, and that was the only consideration in the actions we took.
If this had been the opposing viewpoint delivered in the same divisive and deliberate way, we would have felt and acted the same.
The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision.
We have these rules to keep the focus on the game and on the tournament to the benefit of a global audience, and that was the only consideration in the actions we took.
If this had been the opposing viewpoint delivered in the same divisive and deliberate way, we would have felt and acted the same.
OK, what could Blizzard have done better, and where do we go from here?
Over the past few days, many players, casters, esports fans, and employees have expressed concerns about how we determined the penalties. We’ve had a chance to pause, to listen to our community, and to reflect on what we could have done better. In hindsight, our process wasn’t adequate, and we reacted too quickly.
We want to ensure that we maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all our players, and that our rules and processes are clear. All of this is in service of another important Blizzard value—Play Nice; Play Fair.
In the tournament itself blitzchung *played* fair. We now believe he should receive his prizing. We understand that for some this is not about the prize, and perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. That is not our intention.
We want to ensure that we maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all our players, and that our rules and processes are clear. All of this is in service of another important Blizzard value—Play Nice; Play Fair.
In the tournament itself blitzchung *played* fair. We now believe he should receive his prizing. We understand that for some this is not about the prize, and perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. That is not our intention.
But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. When we think about the suspension, six months for blitzchung is more appropriate, after which time he can compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast.
With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well.
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.
At Blizzard, we are always listening and finding ways to improve—it is part of our culture. Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to learn.
Sincerely,
J. Allen Brack
President of Blizzard Entertainment
Now, to say the "specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made," and "our relationships in China had no influence on our decision," is complete bullshit. If it were at all true, where is the punishment for the American University team that held up a "Free Hong Kong" sign during a live event? That group also made "a statement about the situation in Hong Kong" and yet they went unpunished. How incredibly curious, isn't it? Blizzard attempted to sweep that incident under the run and hoped nobody would notice. The thing about that is: This is the Internet. People noticed.
If American University wasn't punished, Blitzchung and the casters should also face no punishment.
Blizzard literally issued a separate statement to China in their first public statement about the ban. That statement differed from the one the rest of the world read. In the Chinese specific statement, Blizzard said that they "will always respect and defend the pride of our country." Now in tonight's statement you're going to try to tell us that your relationship with China had no influence here? Fuck off.
Nobody should believe Blizzard's statement about the reason behind their decision to punish Blitzchung and those casters. Nobody. There is no reason to believe that they are telling you the truth in the statement they issued tonight.
Not once in this statement are the words "we're sorry" or even "sorry." There is no apology from Blizzard. There is no apology to Blitzchung or the casters. There is only the slightest of backtracking due to the immense amounts of pressure being put on them from fans, employees, the media, and even lawmakers. This is one of the most pathetic statements I've ever seen from a company, especially one that claims to give a damn about the community and say that "every voice matters."
That's a lie. It's just another of many from Blizzard. It's clear that the only voice that matters to them is the one signs them a fat paycheck. Maybe they can one day use that money to buy a fucking backbone.
[Used to show Mark's tweet thread here, now removed. Please read the next two comments to see why.]
tl;dr? The intended audience for all of Blizzard's/NetEase's public messages were exclusively for the US/China government, disguised as a press release. Also we are to expect exciting gaming news on the following Monday/Tuesday as a chaser to the bad news on a late night Friday announcement.
For a very interesting breakdown (and the why, etc.), please check out that Twitter thread. It's good stuff.
Note I'm against the random acts of violence where rebels had no cause and are hired to have fun destroying everything, but I'm not against the minority who are fighting against China (I have much hate in both legal systems, but China is easily the far greater evil in every single way) and resisting a premature handover, when there's supposed to be many more years left in the agreement, or heck a revolution would be nice.
(Also I'm slowly noticing random acts of violence from police, making it dangerous to be near police at all now, as they can suspect you are looking for an opportunity to attack, even if you're a lady or child trying to walk by to get to your destination.)
Also give the casters back their jobs now. Their punishment makes no sense at all. They did their part to avoid participating. They were laughing to tone down the awkwardness, but for ****s sake they did not pursue this topic nor did they continue it. The casters are punished by PARTIALLY being on-screen, instead of immediately panicking and screaming to cut the feed the moment they saw a gas mask and ski goggles........... Were they like trained for this specific surprise? Because if not, GIVE THEM THEIR JOBS BACK RIGHT ****ING NOW!
Dude aligned himself with GamerGate fairly early on without a second thought. He constantly latches on to whatever hot button issue of the day/week there is and tries so damn hard to insert himself into the middle of it. He's been caught lying on numerous occasions about those anecdotes he shares, much like the anecdotes he's making here about China.
Just right off the bat, he brings up the date. It was posted in GMT, same as literally every other news post there. It's not that it came from China. Maybe it did, maybe not. But it was just flat out posted in the time and date of GMT, like every other post. Same can be said about the language and word usage. It was carefully worded, I'll give it that. But it reads no more and no less carefully curated than any other press release that a lawyer has had their hands on, probably multiple times. That's not even mentioning that they know there are now non-gamer eyes on them. I've seen this in a lot of more formal press releases over the years.
He brings up some good points throughout this, but they're points that everyone else covering this (including myself in these multiple articles) have also already brought up about Blizzard's complete hypocrisy and outright bullshit. Supporting and fighting for basic human rights shouldn't be a controversial thing to support, nor should being against a bill that extends a government's power beyond any reasonable bounds, nor should being against re-education camps, nor should being against harvesting human organs from the same group that are being thrown into those concentration camps... unless you're a company that doesn't give a fuck about that and that just happens to also have a mobile game coming out soon in the area (CoD Mobile).
I'm uh, going to take down the tweet, but my message stays because... I had the very wrong idea about this guy and that mistake should stay here clearly shown.
Least now I know he's a GG supporter and is merely latching on to hot topics to look good and benefit his upcoming game, which is not cool.
Thanks for the heads up though!