J. Allen Brack, President of Blizzard, presented a new statement on the controversy surrounding Blitzchung, who saw the company’s “protagonist” in recent weeks. You may remember that Blitzchung is the Hearthstone player who was banned for supporting the Hong Kong struggle for independence. It was so big that even American politicians addressed the case with an open letter to the developer and publisher.
Talking to IGNBRACK said he was a supporter of freedom of expression and that the protesters were part of this culture. That said, and with these values in mind, it was “a nightmare” to be involved in this case for everyone in Blizzard.
“We firmly believe in freedom of expression. Personally, I am a great partisan of freedom of expression. So, it is a bit interesting for me personally to be a person involved in not being a supporter. The supporters there are welcome. The protest is part of our culture, “he said.
“I think it has been a humiliating incident for Blizzard, really in all areas, if you think about how it really took, a kind of life and a life in itself. I think there is a lot. From work that we want to continue to do, thinking about how to prevent such things from happening again. It’s a – I think – a nightmare for all people involved. “
He also wanted to specify what was happening with Blizzard and China. Brack has just mentioned that the company is not allowed to publish games out there, like any other Western video game company, so it must have a local partner “in this case, Netease”. For example, Nintendo works instead with Tencent.
“I think there is a lot of confusion around the operation of the editing games in China. We are not legally allowed to publish our games in China. We must have a partner… In this case, Netease”, A- he added. “It’s their quote. They are their employees who did it. It’s not something we have approved. It’s not something we would have approved.”
Case closed?