In case you’ve been living under a rock, Blizzard has recently dipped their toes into a geopolitical situation which we’ve been vocal about here at My Dpad. Basically, Blizzard has chosen money over human rights by condemning a Hearthstone player who supported Hong Kong protestors. Then, at Blizzcon, the president of Blizzard apologized but didn’t actually change anything.
A lot of gamers (including me) have responded by boycotting Blizzard. I personally uninstalled Overwatch as a response, since that was the only Blizzard game I was really playing at the time. Well, there’s been a new development in the story from Jeff Kaplan himself, the director of Overwatch and one of the Vice Presidents of Blizzard.
Jeff Kaplan Supports Free Speech
In an interview with the Washington Post, Jeff Kaplan had some interesting things to say about the blitzchung situation:
“I was relieved when they reduced his suspension,” Kaplan said in a Friday phone interview. “And I think the suspension should be reduced more or eliminated. But that’s just me.”
“I’m obviously a huge supporter of free speech; it’s something that’s very important to me,” Kaplan said. “It got to me personally. I think the punishment was too harsh and I was greatly relieved when they gave his money back. I think that was extremely important.”
He also clarified that he was speaking for himself, not the entire Overwatch development team.
“I think as individuals, we all have very different feelings about what happened in regards to the Hearthstone tournament and blitzchung,” Kaplan said. “There is a lot of very different reaction among all of us.”
Overwatch Is The Best Thing Blizzard’s Got Going Right Now
Overwatch is Blizzard’s best IP right now, and the release of Overwatch 2 has only increased its profile. In other words, it’s brave of Kaplan to take a stand. This still doesn’t change anything about Blizzard’s cowardice, and I’m not ready to go back to Overwatch until the company as a whole truly apologizes (the empty apology at Blizzcon didn’t count), but it gives me hope. Maybe Kaplan can actually affect some change at Blizzard.
However, at this point all we can do is wait and see. I would be extremely surprised if this changed anything and caused Blizzard to actually change its stance, but it’s a start. Regardless, we’re rooting for Jeff Kaplan. Maybe one day he’ll be free of Blizzard (and Activision, for that matter), and can just focus on making great games.
