Blizzard has received heavy criticism after suspending Hearthstone pro Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai for voicing support for the Hong Kong protests during a recent tournament. And now, fans are using the company’s subreddit as a forum for their grievances.
Some fans say they’ve canceled their World of Warcraft subscriptions, boycotted Hearthstone, or uninstalled all of the company’s titles that they owned. And the community is also flooding the subreddit with memes related to the Hong Kong controversy.
Another fan targeted Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick by featuring him on a phony Hearthstone card.
“Cowardly ban pro Hearthstone player for standing up for human rights,” the card’s ability reads.
Blitzchung inspired his own card as well with an ability that involves being “silenced and removed from the game.”
The controversy erupted after the Hearthstone pro shouted out the slogan of the Hong Kong movement in an interview—“liberate Hong Kong, the revolution of our times.” That prompted Blizzard to ban Blitzchung from all official Hearthstone tournaments and forfeit his Grandmasters prize earnings.
“Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD,” Blizzard said in its official statement.
Both casters involved in the interview also faced repercussions. They were fired after reportedly telling Blitzchung to “say the eight words, then we’ll end the interview immediately.”
