Six months suspensions for all three involved (down from one year and fired and fired), and they're giving Blitzchung his winnings back.
Spoiler quoting the whole thing for anyone who can't click link.
Hello Blizzard Community . . .
I want to take a few minutes to talk to all of you about the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament this past weekend. On Monday, we made the decision to take action against a player named blitzchung and two shoutcasters after the player shared his views on what’s happening in Hong Kong on our official broadcast channel.
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.
As to how those values apply in this case:
First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world.
We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together.
Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong—in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.
Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves. However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game.
Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts?
We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players.
Third, were our actions based on the content of the message?
Part of Thinking Globally, Leading Responsibly, and Every Voice Matters is recognizing that we have players and fans in almost every country in the world. Our goal is to help players connect in areas of commonality, like their passion for our games, and create a sense of shared community.
The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision.
We have these rules to keep the focus on the game and on the tournament to the benefit of a global audience, and that was the only consideration in the actions we took.
If this had been the opposing viewpoint delivered in the same divisive and deliberate way, we would have felt and acted the same.
OK, what could Blizzard have done better, and where do we go from here?
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.
In the tournament itself blitzchung *played* fair. We now believe he should receive his prizing. We understand that for some this is not about the prize, and perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. That is not our intention.
But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. When we think about the suspension, six months for blitzchung is more appropriate, after which time he can compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast.
With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well.
Moving forward, we will continue to apply tournament rules to ensure our official broadcasts remain focused on the game and are not a platform for divisive social or political views.
One of our goals at Blizzard is to make sure that every player, everywhere in the world, regardless of political views, religious beliefs, race, gender, or any other consideration always feels safe and welcome both competing in and playing our games.
At Blizzard, we are always listening and finding ways to improve—it is part of our culture. Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to learn.
Sincerely,
J. Allen Brack
President of Blizzard Entertainment
The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision.
This is not going to be believed
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Moving forward, we will continue to apply tournament rules to ensure our official broadcasts remain focused on the game and are not a platform for divisive social or political views.
Feel like I should just emptyquote my post about how you need to make it clear that people's humanity is not a social or political view, that they're normal humans. Instead now all I'm thinking about is the complete absence of minorities in WoW, the fact that queer characters in Overwatch don't have their queerness universally translated, the fact that they added a black woman to heroes of the storm before they got one in Overwatch...
It's very very deliberate. Like their radio silence all this week, he's hoping firing off a blog post on the ass end of a Friday means things will die down over the weekend.
See, Blizzard eased off! Stop being so entitled, gamers!
Yeah that was pretty bad. The only acceptable thing in the eyes of fans would have been to directly address the Hong Kong situation and taken a stand against China, damn the consequences to the business.
They're trying to weasel their way out of this and its sad.
Jephery on
}
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
Yeah that was pretty bad. The only acceptable thing in the eyes of fans would have been to directly address the Hong Kong situation and taken a stand against China, damn the consequences to the business.
They're trying to weasel their way out of this and its sad.
I mean, I honestly think if they reacted earlier, or even today, with a better statement they could have pulled through.
It's very very deliberate. Like their radio silence all this week, he's hoping firing off a blog post on the ass end of a Friday means things will die down over the weekend.
See, Blizzard eased off! Stop being so entitled, gamers!
It’s a shite thing to do, shite PR move and all from a shite company.
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Pic taken from Blizz's PR department.
I'm sorry I couldn't help myself. :razz:
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
like god damn i'm pretty sure i could write a better letter even if you told me that absolutely no changes to the punishments were coming down and i had to spin that
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Sir FabulousMalevolent Squid GodRegistered Userregular
It's pretty much exactly what I expected.
I think it's good that they're giving Blitzchung his earnings back.
I don't about the broadcasters. 6 month suspension is still a long-ass time to be off of work.
And then when they come back you think they're going to be welcomed with open arms? Hell no. They're going to be held at arms length until they leave. And no other esports company is going to want them either with the reputation they've picked up now.
Blizzard needs to admit they were wrong and deal with the consequences, even if that means pulling out of the Chinese market. No one is buying that the content of his statement had no bearing on his punishment. Until they fix this correctly, I am done with Blizzard. I'll watch the BlizzCon streams hoping for an apology, or hoping for some protests if they fail to deliver, but as of right now I won't be watching it for their games.
I think it's good that they're giving Blitzchung his earnings back.
I don't about the broadcasters. 6 month suspension is still a long-ass time to be off of work.
And then when they come back you think they're going to be welcomed with open arms? Hell no. They're going to be held at arms length until they leave. And no other esports company is going to want them either with the reputation they've picked up now.
Altogether it doesn't convince me to go back.
I definitely don't understand the caster side of this. What did they do that they weren't supposed to exactly? Did they encourage the player to speak his mind? Them burying their heads during it doesn't make that seem likely. They don't control any other aspect of the broadcast, they're just a pair of talking heads, I thought.
reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
edited October 2019
Also, um, people have pointed out that the article is dated October 12 when it's still 11th in California. It's 12th over here so I can't check in case there's some sort of automated regional dating going on, so if one of you Americans could check.
reVerse on
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JuliusCaptain of Serenityon my shipRegistered Userregular
nah. Investors aren't any more moral than the company board, so this is just an indication that many don't see this impacting Activision Blizzard in the long term.
Which is a fair view I think. Unless the Hong Kong protests are going to get more and more out of hand and Activision Blizzard won't distance itself from the Chinese government in response, I doubt any of this will matter in six months. Considering the Hong Kong government has already conceded a lot and AB most likely isn't stupid, it makes sense to invest still.
Also, people have pointed out that the article is dated October 12 when it's still 11th in California.
Yeah to clarify the Eastern Hemisphere is a day ahead of us so it implies that someone over there had some hand in it.
}
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
I've been out of Hearthstone for over a year but I still follow along in the thread here to keep up on news. Oh boy what a shit show. Just wanted to drop in and say that no one I've seen on Reddit or Twitter has bought that "apology." People don't seem to be letting go and that's great.
They fucked up their handling of this very badly from start to finish. But putting that aside, honestly, a six month suspension alone is not that awful a penalty. When you break the rules to make a political statement, justified or otherwise, you do it knowing there will most likely be a penalty. I imagine Blitzchung would still have done it knowing that it would cost him a six month suspension.
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The JudgeThe Terwilliger CurvesRegistered Userregular
A six month punishment but no money lost and the casters aren't suspended may have been passible if done from the get go.
It's not laudable if the original position was BURN THEM ALL.
Last pint: Turmoil CDA / Barley Brown's - Untappd: TheJudge_PDX
I think it's good that they're giving Blitzchung his earnings back.
I don't about the broadcasters. 6 month suspension is still a long-ass time to be off of work.
And then when they come back you think they're going to be welcomed with open arms? Hell no. They're going to be held at arms length until they leave. And no other esports company is going to want them either with the reputation they've picked up now.
Altogether it doesn't convince me to go back.
I definitely don't understand the caster side of this. What did they do that they weren't supposed to exactly? Did they encourage the player to speak his mind? Them burying their heads during it doesn't make that seem likely. They don't control any other aspect of the broadcast, they're just a pair of talking heads, I thought.
I heard that the casters may have encouraged him to say what he did. Dunno if it's true or not, haven't watched myself.
So, what? J Allen Brack is trapped in a cage with a typewriter while Blizzard HQ has actually been taken over by the Chinese?
i think that if this is all true, it's most likely that they handed the statement over to a chinese editor to comb over in a "make sure this doesn't come out wrong for your market" way
i think that what is most important is how much they've lost control of the narrative, that people are actually vocalizing concerns like this
(also i was talking about this with my girlfriend over skype while joking about how "this is where the narrative is at now" and i sent her the twitter thread and she was like "Huh. You know, that's actually like, exactly what all the emails we'd get from China in my old manufacturing job looked like. Like, it has to be settings on their most common email platform, or something." which in turn made me go huh)
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
So, what? J Allen Brack is trapped in a cage with a typewriter while Blizzard HQ has actually been taken over by the Chinese?
I think the idea is that someone in China wrote up this statement, they showed it to Brack and asked if he was okay putting his name on it, he was, and then they published it.
Yeah, uh, I definitely felt there was something "off" with the way Blizzard's statement was written. It doesn't read naturally at all.
Paragraphs like these:
We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together.
We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players.
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.
These paragraphs aren't the way normal people speak, they aren't the way you or I speak.
Over the past few months, I’ve met with many people throughout Blizzard, talking about how we create our future. One thing that remains constant: we are committed to creating epic games and entertainment experiences.
Our development pipeline is strong, and we have the largest lineup of games that we’ve ever had. At the same time, Blizzard tries to have a level of craftsmanship and excellence in all that we do. Maintaining those standards as we continue expanding these worlds takes both time and talented developers.
With that in mind, we have plans to add to game development. We are dedicated to bringing you more content across existing game franchises and bringing our unannounced projects to life. Esports and the Overwatch League are also important priorities, and we will continue to produce great competitive content.
To better support these priorities, we need to reorganize some of our non-development teams. As a result, we will be reducing the number of non-development positions in North America and anticipate a related process in our regional offices over the coming months subject to local requirements. This was an extremely difficult decision, and we want to acknowledge the effort of everyone who has contributed to Blizzard. To assist with the transition, we are offering each impacted employee a severance package that includes additional pay, benefits continuation, and career and recruiting support to help them find their next opportunity. These people are members of the Blizzard family—they’ve cared deeply and contributed greatly to our work here and we are extremely grateful for all they’ve done.
As difficult as some of these organizational changes are, I am confident in Blizzard’s future and we will continue working hard to live up to not only our mission, but your expectations. We look forward to sharing everything with you when it’s ready.
J. Allen Brack
This reads completely differently to the post he just wrote, right?
Look, my (not so) tinfoil hat theory at this point is that Netease wrote this statement up and handed it off to Blizzard and told them to post it as their own thing.
There's no way those two posts were written by the same fucking person.
I was very skeptical at first, because I feel like most similar conspiracy theories on social media happen when someone knows enough about a subject to see when something is out of the ordinary, but doesn't know enough to determine that things are actually weird for a legitimate reason and everything's fine (see: that thing about the Epic Store allegedly stealing data from user's hard drives). I'm not blaming the people who start them up, they are being genuine and earnest and trying to warm people about what they see as trouble, I'm just wary of jumping on bandwagons like that until some more people "peer-review".
Buuuuuuuut at this point I'm really coming around to being on board. Those two statements don't sound even remotely similar.
Posts
Meh.
https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/activision-blizzard-share-price-hong-kong-1203367672/
Says here a dent was made yesterday but Activision Blizzard gained its value back today and then some.
edit;
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizzard/23185888/regarding-last-weekend-s-hearthstone-grandmasters-tournament
Six months suspensions for all three involved (down from one year and fired and fired), and they're giving Blitzchung his winnings back.
Spoiler quoting the whole thing for anyone who can't click link.
I want to take a few minutes to talk to all of you about the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament this past weekend. On Monday, we made the decision to take action against a player named blitzchung and two shoutcasters after the player shared his views on what’s happening in Hong Kong on our official broadcast channel.
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.
As to how those values apply in this case:
First, our official esports tournament broadcast was used as a platform for a winner of this event to share his views with the world.
We interview competitors who are at the top of their craft to share how they feel. We want to experience that moment with them. Hearing their excitement is a powerful way to bring us together.
Over the weekend, blitzchung used his segment to make a statement about the situation in Hong Kong—in violation of rules he acknowledged and understood, and this is why we took action.
Every Voice Matters, and we strongly encourage everyone in our community to share their viewpoints in the many places available to express themselves. However, the official broadcast needs to be about the tournament and to be a place where all are welcome. In support of that, we want to keep the official channels focused on the game.
Second, what is the role of shoutcasters for these broadcasts?
We hire shoutcasters to amplify the excitement of the game. They elevate the watchability and help the esports viewing experience stay focused on the tournament and our amazing players.
Third, were our actions based on the content of the message?
Part of Thinking Globally, Leading Responsibly, and Every Voice Matters is recognizing that we have players and fans in almost every country in the world. Our goal is to help players connect in areas of commonality, like their passion for our games, and create a sense of shared community.
The specific views expressed by blitzchung were NOT a factor in the decision we made. I want to be clear: our relationships in China had no influence on our decision.
We have these rules to keep the focus on the game and on the tournament to the benefit of a global audience, and that was the only consideration in the actions we took.
If this had been the opposing viewpoint delivered in the same divisive and deliberate way, we would have felt and acted the same.
OK, what could Blizzard have done better, and where do we go from here?
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.
In the tournament itself blitzchung *played* fair. We now believe he should receive his prizing. We understand that for some this is not about the prize, and perhaps for others it is disrespectful to even discuss it. That is not our intention.
But playing fair also includes appropriate pre-and post-match conduct, especially when a player accepts recognition for winning in a broadcast. When we think about the suspension, six months for blitzchung is more appropriate, after which time he can compete in the Hearthstone pro circuit again if he so chooses. There is a consequence for taking the conversation away from the purpose of the event and disrupting or derailing the broadcast.
With regard to the casters, remember their purpose is to keep the event focused on the tournament. That didn’t happen here, and we are setting their suspension to six months as well.
Moving forward, we will continue to apply tournament rules to ensure our official broadcasts remain focused on the game and are not a platform for divisive social or political views.
One of our goals at Blizzard is to make sure that every player, everywhere in the world, regardless of political views, religious beliefs, race, gender, or any other consideration always feels safe and welcome both competing in and playing our games.
At Blizzard, we are always listening and finding ways to improve—it is part of our culture. Thank you for your patience with us as we continue to learn.
Sincerely,
J. Allen Brack
President of Blizzard Entertainment
This is not going to be believed
Yeah, no, this isn't enough Blizzard.
Feel like I should just emptyquote my post about how you need to make it clear that people's humanity is not a social or political view, that they're normal humans. Instead now all I'm thinking about is the complete absence of minorities in WoW, the fact that queer characters in Overwatch don't have their queerness universally translated, the fact that they added a black woman to heroes of the storm before they got one in Overwatch...
It's very very deliberate. Like their radio silence all this week, he's hoping firing off a blog post on the ass end of a Friday means things will die down over the weekend.
See, Blizzard eased off! Stop being so entitled, gamers!
They're trying to weasel their way out of this and its sad.
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
I mean, I honestly think if they reacted earlier, or even today, with a better statement they could have pulled through.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
I'm sorry I couldn't help myself. :razz:
I think it's good that they're giving Blitzchung his earnings back.
I don't about the broadcasters. 6 month suspension is still a long-ass time to be off of work.
And then when they come back you think they're going to be welcomed with open arms? Hell no. They're going to be held at arms length until they leave. And no other esports company is going to want them either with the reputation they've picked up now.
Altogether it doesn't convince me to go back.
Switch Friend Code: SW-1406-1275-7906
I definitely don't understand the caster side of this. What did they do that they weren't supposed to exactly? Did they encourage the player to speak his mind? Them burying their heads during it doesn't make that seem likely. They don't control any other aspect of the broadcast, they're just a pair of talking heads, I thought.
nah. Investors aren't any more moral than the company board, so this is just an indication that many don't see this impacting Activision Blizzard in the long term.
Which is a fair view I think. Unless the Hong Kong protests are going to get more and more out of hand and Activision Blizzard won't distance itself from the Chinese government in response, I doubt any of this will matter in six months. Considering the Hong Kong government has already conceded a lot and AB most likely isn't stupid, it makes sense to invest still.
Yeah to clarify the Eastern Hemisphere is a day ahead of us so it implies that someone over there had some hand in it.
"Orkses never lose a battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin so it don't count. If we runs for it we don't die neither, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!".
It's not laudable if the original position was BURN THEM ALL.
I heard that the casters may have encouraged him to say what he did. Dunno if it's true or not, haven't watched myself.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
i think that if this is all true, it's most likely that they handed the statement over to a chinese editor to comb over in a "make sure this doesn't come out wrong for your market" way
i think that what is most important is how much they've lost control of the narrative, that people are actually vocalizing concerns like this
(also i was talking about this with my girlfriend over skype while joking about how "this is where the narrative is at now" and i sent her the twitter thread and she was like "Huh. You know, that's actually like, exactly what all the emails we'd get from China in my old manufacturing job looked like. Like, it has to be settings on their most common email platform, or something." which in turn made me go huh)
I think the idea is that someone in China wrote up this statement, they showed it to Brack and asked if he was okay putting his name on it, he was, and then they published it.
Paragraphs like these:
These paragraphs aren't the way normal people speak, they aren't the way you or I speak.
At least, for a native english speaker.
Something smells here.
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
This reads completely differently to the post he just wrote, right?
Look, my (not so) tinfoil hat theory at this point is that Netease wrote this statement up and handed it off to Blizzard and told them to post it as their own thing.
There's no way those two posts were written by the same fucking person.
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582
That phrase is how soulless cretins talk. I am reminded of Dave Brandon, former Michigan athletic director and Domino's CEO who also used this phrase.
Buuuuuuuut at this point I'm really coming around to being on board. Those two statements don't sound even remotely similar.
Nah, the one from Feb is just standard fare Soulless Corporate PR Talk
Battle.net Tag: Dibby#1582