Last month Blizzard made headlines after banning a pro-Hearthstone player who spoke out against China during his post-win interview. The fallout from this incident led to many gamers calling to boycott Blizzard games in protest. There was also a movement that gained the title “Protest Blizzcon”.
Blizzcon is Activision-Blizzard’s annual tradeshow/convention that invites fans to watch as they announce their upcoming titles, DLC, and other projects. If you’re not a gamer but find yourself feeling like you’ve heard of the event before, it may be because it sparked a different kind of outrage last year. Check out the clip below to learn more about that controversy or jump ahead to see what happened at Blizzcon 2019.
The Biggest Announcements
Before we look into the darker side of the event, we should talk about the biggest announcements that Blizzard unveiled to drum up support from fans, market analysts, and investors. All of these groups and Blizzard itself have to ask the question: will this be enough to offset the current controversies surrounding the organization?
Overwatch 2
One of the biggest announcements to come out of the event was that Overwatch 2 is currently in development. Its been confirmed as a full-blown sequel with a heavy focus on coop and PvE game modes. This is a departure from the PvP multiplayer focus that its predecessor is known for. Blizzard also made it clear that multiplayer will be cross-compatible between Overwatch 1 and 2, with updates coming to both titles.
Another exciting aspect for gamers in the great white north came in the form of a new hero announcement. Sojourn is the name of Overwatch’s first Canadian hero, which is fitting with the upcoming release of a map set in Toronto.
Diablo 4
Arguably the most anticipated announcement at Blizzcon 2019, Diablo 4’s announcement was accompanied by what fans are calling the companies best cinematic to date. Which is incredibly impressive considering the company is known for its high-quality trailers.
While there was very little information released about the title beyond the trailer, what has been revealed has left gamers feeling dubious as to if it is headed in the right direction. There has already been a number of comments and articles published critical of planned microtransactions and the need to be online to even play the game in single-player mode.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
The final major announcement at Blizzcon 2019 was the new World of Warcraft expansion, Shadowlands. This new adventure starts with Sylvanas battling with Bolvar, the man who took on the mantle of the Lich King at the end of the acclaimed expansion Wrath of the Lich King. During their fight, Bolvar uses his helmet to literally tear a hole in reality and remove the barrier between the planet of Azeroth and a new realm called the Shadowlands.
It is slated for a 2020 release.
Protests and Boycotts and Poohs (Oh My!)
While there was a huge number of people inside the event, there was a fair few who never stepped foot past the gate. Much like the people inside the event, these people also dressed up in costumes. But whereas the people inside the event were dressed as druids and elves, the people outside leaned more towards Winnie the Pooh.
"They were also super surprised that many of us are leftists. They were fully expecting the Gamergate environment" https://t.co/75QZ3f2mvw
— Manic
(@manic_intent) November 3, 2019
These protestors were a mix of gamers upset with Blizzard’s decision to ban a pro-Hong Kong Hearthstone player and Hong Kong expatriates who were trying to gain more awareness for their movement.
For the uninitiated, Hong Kong has been in a constant state of protests for several months. This began after it was announced that an extradition bill that had come before the city legislature would allow the Chinese government to extradite Hong Kong citizens to mainland China.
It will take time to see if these protests will affect Blizzard’s bottom line, but on Reddit, posts concerning the Blizzcon announcements were upvoted fewer times than had been seen in previous years. The responses, even from those not involved in the boycott or protests, were lukewarm at best. It would be best to keep an eye on the market closer to the release of these flagship titles to see if this is a blip on the radar or something indicative of a growing issue.
