Today, at the beginning of the opening keynote of the annual BlizzCon celebration, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack issued a statement about the events transpired recently involving Hearthstone pro player Ng Wai “blitzchung” Chung.
For those who aren’t up to date with the issue, blitzchung wore a gas mask and proclaimed a pro-Hong-Kong statement following a competition on October 6, prompting a harsh response from the publisher who banned the player and revoked his prize money.
Following widespread protests from the community, Blizzard opted to reduce the duration of the ban and reissue the prize money but did not completely absolve blitzchung and the casters on duty.
Brack walked on stage to apologize about the way Blizzard handled the issue, and accepted accountability for it.
He also pledged to “do better going forward” and pledged commitment to “everyone’s right to express themselves in all kinds of ways, in all kinds of places.”
That being said, he did not announce any further change of the penalties for blitzchung and the casters involved.
You can read the full statement below.
“Blizzard had the opportunity to bring the world together in a tough Hearthstone eSports moment about a month ago, and we did not.
We moved too quickly in our decision making and then made matters worse. We were too slow to talk with all of you.
When I think about what I’m most unhappy about, there’s really two things. The first one is, we didn’t live up to the high standards we set for ourselves.
The second is, we failed in our purpose, and for that, I am sorry, and I accept accountability.
So what exactly is our purpose? Blizzard is demonstrating it even as we speak. We aspire to bring the world together in epic entertainment, and I truly believe in the positive power of video games.
When we get it right, we create a common ground where the community comes together to compete, connect, and play, irrespective of the things that divide us.
As an example, Blizzcon has people from 59 countries all around the world here at the show today. That is amazing! And that is the positive power of video games, to transcend divisions that surround us in so many of our places today.
We will do better going forward, but our actions are gonna matter more than any of these words.
As you walk around this weekend, I hope it’s clear how committed we are to everyone’s right to express themselves in all kinds of ways, in all kinds of places.
I’ve actualy seen and heard many of you express yourselves this morning. You use your vacation and your family time to be here in Anaheim with us, and we’re so grateful to have you here this weekend. Our best moments are here in our shared passion for Blizzard games.
Once again BlizzCon has brought us together, and today you’re going to see a lot of the hard work of the Blizzard team. “
[Featured artwork courtesy of lacelazièr]
