A few weeks ago, gaming company Blizzard, creator of games like World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and Heartstone, was under a lot of criticism when they banned a Hearthstone player, Ng Wai Chung or better known as blitzchung for supporting the demonstrators of the Hong Kong protests in a livestream after a tournament.
Blizzard saw a lot of backlash from the community and people were demanding to reduce the 12 month suspension of blitzchung from participating in tournaments into six months and return the prize that was forfeited from the tournament he won. Blizzard President J. Allen Brack, during the Blizzcon, announced that they will be doing what the community wants, reduce blitzchung's sentence and return his prize money.
Most of the community was happy about the reduction of the suspension, but some are still not satisfied about the way Blizzard handled the situation, and one of those person is the Vice President of Blizzard and Director of Overwatch, Jeff Kaplan.
During an interview with Washington Post, Kaplad said: “I was relieved when they reduced his suspension,” Kaplan said in a Friday phone interview. "And I think the suspension should be reduced more or eliminated. But that’s just me.”
“I’m obviously a huge supporter of free speech; it’s something that’s very important to me," Kaplan said. “It got to me personally. I think the punishment was too harsh and I was greatly relieved when they gave his money back. I think that was extremely important."
Kaplan's reaction was unexpected as he is an integral part of the Blizzard development. But Kaplan made it clear that this opinions does not reflect the whole Overwatch team and people may have different opinions about the issue:
"I think as individuals, we all have very different feelings about what happened in regards to the Hearthstone tournament and Blitzchung. There is a lot of very different reaction among all of us."
People were criticizing Blizzard for giving punishment too quickly and was under accusation that this is because of their business ties with China, as Overwatch and their other titles in the country are hugely popular and generate a lot of income for their company.
What do you think of this issue and should Blizzard remove the ban on blitzchung? Let us know in the comments below!
Blizzard saw a lot of backlash from the community and people were demanding to reduce the 12 month suspension of blitzchung from participating in tournaments into six months and return the prize that was forfeited from the tournament he won. Blizzard President J. Allen Brack, during the Blizzcon, announced that they will be doing what the community wants, reduce blitzchung's sentence and return his prize money.
Most of the community was happy about the reduction of the suspension, but some are still not satisfied about the way Blizzard handled the situation, and one of those person is the Vice President of Blizzard and Director of Overwatch, Jeff Kaplan.
During an interview with Washington Post, Kaplad said: “I was relieved when they reduced his suspension,” Kaplan said in a Friday phone interview. "And I think the suspension should be reduced more or eliminated. But that’s just me.”
“I’m obviously a huge supporter of free speech; it’s something that’s very important to me," Kaplan said. “It got to me personally. I think the punishment was too harsh and I was greatly relieved when they gave his money back. I think that was extremely important."
Kaplan's reaction was unexpected as he is an integral part of the Blizzard development. But Kaplan made it clear that this opinions does not reflect the whole Overwatch team and people may have different opinions about the issue:
"I think as individuals, we all have very different feelings about what happened in regards to the Hearthstone tournament and Blitzchung. There is a lot of very different reaction among all of us."
People were criticizing Blizzard for giving punishment too quickly and was under accusation that this is because of their business ties with China, as Overwatch and their other titles in the country are hugely popular and generate a lot of income for their company.
What do you think of this issue and should Blizzard remove the ban on blitzchung? Let us know in the comments below!
