Examples of Damage Control in Gaming: The Cold Corporate Appeal to China

The pro-democracy protests have been an ongoing occurrence in Hong Kong for months now, but they were a long time in coming. The United Kingdom handed over Hong Kong back to China in 1997, but China was mostly content to let the country continue operating independently for years. Recently, however, the authoritarian state has been making moves to further establish power within Hong Kong, and citizens of the island who favor democratic norms and civil rights know full-well how China treats its own denizens – and especially those of differing faiths. It’s why around a quarter of Hong Kong has taken to the streets to literally fight for their rights. They’ve won some victories, but nonetheless have a hell of a mountain to climb against a government and increasingly vicious police force capitulating to China.

Several American companies and organizations do business in and with China, so this was bound to ensnare some of them eventually and create incidents. The first major one happened to be the NBA, after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of the HK protestors. Nothing but absolute fealty will be tolerated for China’s regime, and the NBA has been heavily dependent on the increasing Chinese fanbase for their increasing revenue in recent years; so, it’s not surprising that the NBA has been bending over backwards to appease China for the last few days. It’s thus far been to no avail despite the NBA throwing Morey under the bus, as China is refusing to air NBA playoff games as punishment. Remember that this was all over one goddamned tweet.

Following this, you can bet that no other company wants to get on the country’s bad side, and that now includes Blizzard. Hong Kong pro Hearthstone player Chung “blitzchung” Ng Wai ended a stream at the beginning of the week by voicing support for Hong Kong’s protestors, including by even donning the mask they wear and using their slogan. Blizzard does business in the Chinese market, and reacted predictably: They removed blitzchung from the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament and stripped him of his prize money, and banned him from competing for a year. Even more, Blizzard also said they’d cease working with the commentators, despite them not endorsing his viewpoint.

Blizzard also included this little gem in their statement: “While we stand by one’s right to express individual thoughts and opinions, players and other participants that elect to participate in our esports competitions must abide by the official competition rules.” This is an expanded spin on the classic “protest the right way” complaint. The display of abject cowardice shows how far companies are willing to bend down for China.

Gaming communities across the internet have been in an uproar ever since. There are supporters, along with those shouting “both sides are bad” (wrong) and that blitzchung should have known the rules (also wrong), but they’re outnumbered by those who think this was a horrible move. They’re also letting Blizzard know their disappointment. College Hearthstone players held up a sign saying “Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizzard” sign during another stream, while Hong Kong protestors are turning Mei from the company’s Overwatch into a protest symbol.

Several of them plan on boycotting future Blizzard works as a result, though whether that will be effective is another question. Several will follow through, but given the history of boycotts in gaming, others pledging to do so now will be wooed back in with the next Overwatch character. That’s just how things go.

The moves from the NBA and Blizzard betray the progressive veneer both have set up. The NBA prided itself on addressing civil rights, where it’s done a good-though-not-perfect job. Blizzard, meanwhile, has made games like the aforementioned Overwatch that promote diversity in their casts. There’s nothing more progressive than standing up for democratic values and human rights when they’re at risk, so we’re seeing how far they’ll go to support those ideals. This hasn’t escaped the notice of Blizzard employees, who covered up the “Every Voice Matters” and “Think Globally” slogans enshrined on the ground outside their headquarters. They also staged a walk out earlier today. Ah, to be a fly on the wall within the company right now.

It also doesn’t help that the so-called leader of the free world has forbade himself from speaking up against this battle between China and Hong Kong, even if he wouldn’t agree with the overall pro-democratic message. It’s also been a riot to watch prominent conservative politicians speak out against China while themselves approving of laws and regulations that trample on democracy in the United States.

This notably isn’t the first heated gaming-related incident to involve China this year. Devotion, a first-person horror game from Taiwanese developer Red Candle Games, was celebrated for its quality and nailing the feel of Chinese life in the 1970s and 1980s. But that all stopped when a jab at China president Xi Jinping was discovered as an Easter egg in the game, with pro-Chinese forces reacting just how you’d expect them to. No apologies from the development team would suffice, and the game was removed from Steam as a result. They also since confirmed that it won’t be returning. Again, nothing but absolute fealty is enough for them, like many authoritarian regimes.

As the battle between China and Hong Kong continues to intensify, more will speak out, and their businesses will continue issuing lame or cowardly statements if they say anything at all. China supporters will also get louder, like how live-action Mulan actress Liu Yifei voiced support for Hong Kong’s police force, which Disney still hasn’t (and, let’s be honest, won’t) respond to. This is all going to get so, so much worse from here.