Recently, video game company Blizzard revoked the prize
winnings of a Hearthstone Grandmasters player for supporting the Hong Kong
protest movement. This might be the most obvious example of Chinese pandering
in a while, but it’s certainly not the first or last time a video game company
will bow to Chinese influence.
On Oct. 6, Hearthstone Grandmaster Chung Ng Wai — player
name blitzchung — repeated the slogan, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our
times” in a post-game interview while wearing a gas mask: a direct reference to
the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. The same day, Activision-Blizzard revoked
Wai’s tournament winnings and banned him and the two shoutcasters conducting
the interview for a year. This was immediately followed by a massive backlash,
with subreddits, forums, US representatives and media outlets immediately
condemning Blizzard’s actions as Chinese appeasement. Six days later, Blizzard
sent out an apology, trying to justify the ban and reconcile it with their core
value of “Every Voice Matters.”
While the second quarter financial report of
Activision-Blizzard only shows about 12% of their total revenue coming from the
Asia-Pacific area, it’s clear that they want to get into the Chinese market. In
2018, Newzoo reported that 619.5 million players in China spent $37.9 billion
that year, making it the largest video game market in the world. Ninety-four
percent of those players also spend money on microtransactions. Perhaps they
are predatory to children, and lead to addiction with the variety of loot boxes
available, but in China? That’s an invaluable revenue source.
Blizzard’s apology came across as half-hearted, an
appeasement to the Western audience trying to declare that in tournaments,
politics has no place. And while politics might be out of place in esports,
it’s certainly a concern for the Western audience where free speech is an
inalienable right. The apology definitely seemed unfaithful in light of
Blizzard’s official Chinese response, where they promised to “defend the pride
and dignity of (China),” which doesn’t quite ring of “Every Voice Matters”.
Free speech is the core issue here, both with Blizzard’s
expansion to China and other video game companies China interacts with on a
regular basis. In the West, freedom of speech is a necessity, an unquestionable
right. In China, it’s restricted by the government. Trying to reconcile the two
in a fashion that claims to protect free speech, but doesn’t, is unsustainable.
Blizzard also can’t claim this punishment is uniform.
Especially since in an American collegiate tournament, American University team
members held up a Free Hong Kong sign on stream with no consequence. Post-game
interviews are notably absent from the tournament.
Wai has since posted a response on his Twitter,
acknowledging that in the future he will take his support to personal
platforms, rather than official tournament settings, giving blessings to the
community for their support and to Blizzard for giving back his prize money and
shortening his ban. Does this mean the issue should be dropped? No.
Ultimately, both game companies and us — as the consumers —
need to decide what our position is. If we simply accept that Blizzard is a
company that appeals to China and its censors, we’ll end up with a censored
gaming experience. But we don’t have to accept it. American consumers still
make up 55% of Blizzard’s revenue. What we do and say, especially regarding our
wallets, matters. We need to think about where we spend our money, to make
clear that the silencing of free speech is not supported. To do this, we can
explore other video games that aren’t influenced by Chinese investment, and
share the #BoycottBlizzard movement. My recommendation is “Team Fortress 2” —
the free class-based shooter on Steam — which is an old classic.
Graphic by Sarah Besserer