wraggster
October 9th, 2019, 20:16
Epic Games has stated that it will not ban or otherwise punish Fortnite players or content creators for speaking up on political issues.
This came in response to Blizzard's year-long competitive ban of Hearthstone Grandmasters player Chung 'blitzchung' Ng Wai (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-10-08-blizzard-dismisses-hearthstone-player-for-supporting-hong-kong-protests) for shouting, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!" during an interview following a match. He also saw his prize money revoked, and Blizzard additionally cut ties with the two interviewers on camera with him at the time.
Speaking to The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/9/20906110/blizzard-hearthstone-ban-hong-kong-china-epic-games-fortnite-blitzchung), an Epic Games spokesperson said the company would take a different approach in its own events. "Epic supports everyone's right to express their views on politics and human rights," they said. "We wouldn't ban or punish a Fortnite player or content creator for speaking on these topics."
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney added further comment on Twitter (https://twitter.com/timsweeneyepic/status/1181946357759844352?s=21). When asked if Epic would do nothing if a streamer such as Turner 'Tfue' Tenney said "Free Hong Kong" in a post-game interview, Sweeney replied with, "Exactly."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-10-09-epic-wont-take-action-against-fortnite-players-who-speak-up-about-hong-kong
This came in response to Blizzard's year-long competitive ban of Hearthstone Grandmasters player Chung 'blitzchung' Ng Wai (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-10-08-blizzard-dismisses-hearthstone-player-for-supporting-hong-kong-protests) for shouting, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age!" during an interview following a match. He also saw his prize money revoked, and Blizzard additionally cut ties with the two interviewers on camera with him at the time.
Speaking to The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/9/20906110/blizzard-hearthstone-ban-hong-kong-china-epic-games-fortnite-blitzchung), an Epic Games spokesperson said the company would take a different approach in its own events. "Epic supports everyone's right to express their views on politics and human rights," they said. "We wouldn't ban or punish a Fortnite player or content creator for speaking on these topics."
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney added further comment on Twitter (https://twitter.com/timsweeneyepic/status/1181946357759844352?s=21). When asked if Epic would do nothing if a streamer such as Turner 'Tfue' Tenney said "Free Hong Kong" in a post-game interview, Sweeney replied with, "Exactly."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-10-09-epic-wont-take-action-against-fortnite-players-who-speak-up-about-hong-kong