For a few months now in Hong Kong, there have been major clashes between both the Chinese government and the people of Hong Kong. Hong Kong being considered similar to England’s crown dependence (which it previously was itself), however, for China’s own crumbling empire that they won’t let go of. These clashes have led to support by several individuals on both sides which has lead to some interesting circumstances not only in China but worldwide.

One of the most famous cases in the last few weeks outside of our gaming bubble was part of the NBA. The general manager, Daryl Morey, of the Houston Rockets tweeted support for those in fighting the autocratic government; leading to several major issues for the league, players, pundits, Chinese fans, and even American fans. With one fan, Sam Wachs, at a Philadelphia 76ers vs Guangzhou Loong Lions game in Philadelphia being removed for holding up signs, wearing a shirt, and shouting support of the protests.

However, in our little gaming sphere, the same trouble was brewing when Blizzard suspended a pro league player of their online card game Hearthstone. Dari wrote about the issues that arose from this instance and why this was a bad move on the part of Blizzard. Many fans following the announcement of this suspension tweeted out their scorn for Blizzard’s decision with “#BoycottBlizzard” being the most prominent hashtag. Since then, Blizzard has been on the back foot trying to both please fans, as well as (many are assuming) trying to please the Chinese government too.

Now it seems there is further blowback from the Blitzchung incident for Blizzard. As part of the release celebrations of Overwatch on the Nintendo Switch, another game developed by Blizzard, there was a live event scheduled to take place in New York tomorrow. As announced by @NintendoNYC, the event that was scheduled to take place in their store in Rockefeller Plaza, New York was canceled by Blizzard themselves. However, at the time of writing, Blizzard hasn’t cited why.

With Blizzard’s company-centric convention “Blizzcon” just two weeks away, one wonders if the event will see the same issues. One could assume that a few fans who bought tickets before the event, could show up and cause, “unwanted trouble.” If one had to hazard a guess at why the Overwatch event was canceled, it would be concern over fans showing up to the store with “Boycott Blizzard,” and “Free Hong Kong” signs.

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