Gamers are accusing Blizzard, an American video game company, of blocking users from deleting their accounts.
Users tried to delete their accounts en masse after Blizzard issued a year-long ban and revoked the cash prize from the winner of the Hearthstone Grandmasters, an esports tournament. Chung Ng Wai, aka Blitzchung, faced sanctions from Blizzard after showing his support for Hong Kong protesters in a post-game interview.
“Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time,” Wai said after removing a gas mask, Polygon reports.
Wai’s comments come months amid the pro-democracy protests that occupy the streets of Hong Kong. In an attempt to deter the riots, the Hong Kong government banned face masks last week.
The reparations against Wai sparked outrage among the gaming community. But Blizzard users said when they attempted to delete their subscriptions, the company was blocking their efforts.
Holy shit. Blizzard is apparently blocking people from deleting their accounts and cancelling subscriptions. https://t.co/7gB9GtezYi
— Mr. Blue(Slots Open) @mrbluedesigns.bsky.social (@MrBlueDesigns) October 9, 2019
“So now Blizzard have disabled ALL FOUR authentication methods to actively stop people from deleting their accounts. This is beyond disgusting. Spread awareness of this. #BoycottBlizzard,” @Espsilverfire2 tweeted.
So now Blizzard have disabled ALL FOUR authentication methods to actively stop people from deleting their accounts. This is beyond disgusting. Spread awareness of this. #BoycottBlizzard pic.twitter.com/AyUiABgMXD
— WingedAsarath 🏳️⚧️ WingedAsarath@tech.lgbt (@WingedAsarath) October 9, 2019
#BoycottBlizzard trended Wednesday among gamers. Some users were apparently successful in deleting their accounts.
“Feels good cleaning up 500+ Gbs of storage on my computer after deleting every blizzard game from it. Go fuck yourselves @Blizzard_Ent @BlizzardCS #BoycottBlizzard,” @PandamoniumFTW tweeted.
Feels good cleaning up 500+ Gbs of storage on my computer after deleting every blizzard game from it. Go fuck yourselves @Blizzard_Ent @BlizzardCS #BoycottBlizzard
— 🌻Hoenn🌻 (@HoennGhoul) October 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/CatgirlCelly/status/1181497831531544577
An anonymous Blizzard employee told the Daily Beast that the company’s position with China is not a surprise.
“Blizzard makes a lot of money in China, but now the company is in this awkward position where we can’t abide by our values,” the employee told the Daily Beast.
Blizzard did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
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H/T Business Insider