first published on October 10, 2019 by Funker
Blizzard has gone full on tyrannical in response to a Hong Kong-based gamer’s pro democracy remarks and is reportedly blocking users from deleting their accounts in protest.
Blizzard banned professional Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung AKA “Blitzchung” from the gaming league after he announced “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” during a live streamed interview.
Not only have they banned him, but also revoked payment of the prize money he has accrued through his winnings. In addition to that, Blizzard has denounced any connection with the two stream anchors just for being present at the time the comments were made.
So now Blizzard have disabled ALL FOUR authentication methods to actively stop people from deleting their accounts. This is beyond disgusting. Spread awareness of this. #BoycottBlizzard pic.twitter.com/AyUiABgMXD
— Charlotte Mather (@Espsilverfire2) October 9, 2019
A #BoycottBlizzard movement has taken hold, and users who attempted to delete their accounts in protest are reportedly being blocked from doing so, with their accounts being locked instead. A small group of Blizzard employees reportedly staged a walkout at the company’s main campus in Irvine, California as well.
Tencent, a massive Chinese tech corporation, owns five percent of Blizzard, and also reportedly brought in 12 percent of the company’s revenue from the Asia-Pacific region last quarter.