The Blizzard Catastrophe: Blizzard Finally Responds, Eases "Blitzchung"s Punishment

After nearly a week of silence, Activision-Blizzard finally responded to the “Blitzchung” controversy over the weekend, agreeing that the punishment rendered for his actions were too harsh, returning his winnings, and reducing his suspension (and the caster’s suspension) to only six months.

Here’s some of what what president J. Allen Brack had to say in a prepared statement:

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…

…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.

You can, and should, read the whole statement. While it’s certainly a step in the right direction for Blizzard to admit they made a mistake, they already opened pandora’s box on this one. Protests are still ongoing, the subreddits are still swarmed with Anti-Blizzard memes and statements, and they’ve firmly shown their allegiance is to China, not their players, or freedom.

And, of course, by refusing to take a stand, they inadvertently take a stand for the status-quo, which is every bit the political statement they seem to want to avoid.

That said, the banned player in question, Chung 'Blitzchung' Ng Wai, responded to the news well:

"I'm grateful for Blizzard reconsidering their position about my ban. Earlier this week, I told media that I knew I might have penalty or consequence for my act, because I understand that my act could take the conversation away from the purpose of the event. In the future, I will be more careful on that and express my opinions or show my support to Hong Kong on my personal platforms... Hearthstone changed my the way I live, I really love this community. Blessing to all the players out there, and blessing to Blizzard."

Graceful and tactful. But just because Chung is being graceful doesn't mean we have to let Blizzard, as a company, get off easily. As long as we stop targeting Blizzard employees and people who still enjoy the game, there's no reason to let up.