Blizzard's suspension of Blitzchung prompts casters, fans to drop their support

Problems continue to mount for Blizzard Entertainment as the result of its recent actions against professional "Hearthstone" competitor Blitzchung. Earlier this week, news about the game studio's decision to suspend Chung Ng Wai from competing in tournaments for a year drew criticism from gamers, journalists alike. Furthermore, some of its employees even staged a walkout to protest the managements decision to ban the player for making a political speech during an interview.

Now, fans are threatening to boycott its services and products. In addition to its woes, a prominent "Hearthstone" caster is stepping away for the remainder of the 2019 tournament season. Gamers who regularly tune in to watch the competition unfold will recognise Nathan Zamora or "Admirable" as fans know him. His departure makes a big impact on the "Hearthstone" scene especially when the Grandmasters finals is coming up next month at the 2019 BlizzCon.

His announcement comes just a day after another renowned caster stepped down from his post for the same reason. Brian Kibler publicly posted his statement regarding Blizzard's measures against Chung. InvenGlobal points out that Kibler believes Blitzchung deserved a penalty for using the official broadcast as a platform to express his political views.

However, the punishment that was dealt appears to be uncalled for, believes the caster. Going back to Zamora, a line from his official statement reads: "I will not be part of the broadcast team for 'Hearthstone' for the remainder of this Grandmasters season, for the Masters Tour in Bucharest, or for BlizzCon."

Blizzard is not only seeing its casters go, but consumers are also taking a stand and vowing to discontinue their support. Most of the people who are reacting to the incident are reportedly praising Wai for his bravery.

The ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong is a sensitive talking point when it comes to the Chinese government, which leads others to speculate that the suspension was a form of damage control.

In a related article, shortly after Blitzchung's ban by Blizzard become viral, Epic Games grabbed the opportunity to let the public know it will not ban any of its players or content creators for making political comments. The Activision-owned game studio has yet to make an official statement regarding the "Hearthstone" debacle.