Blizzard Entertainment president J. Allen Brack delivered a seemingly heartfelt speech during the opening minutes of this year's Blizzcon this past weekend and fans watching the opening ceremony across the globe were delighted. Brack started off by stating the following, as reported by us during the stream: "We moved too quickly in our decision and then, to make matters worse, we were too slow to talk with all of you. We didn't live up to the high standards we set for ourselves. We failed in our purpose. I'm sorry and I accept accountability".
However, the apology was a general one and Brack didn't mention the Blitzchung or the surrounding bans relating to the Chinese freedom fighting movement directly. Now, in an interview with PC Gamer, Brack has clarified the apology, stating that Blizzard will not be repealing the punishments against Blitzchung or the casters involved in the Hearthstone debacle.
"We want the official broadcasts, which are a small percentage of the overall content that gets created, to be about the games. And we want those to be focused on the games. Again, it's not about the content of Blitzchung's message. It's about the fact that it was not around the games," Brack continued, "If we hadn't taken action, if we hadn't done something, you can imagine the trail that would be in our future around doing interviews".
Brack also confirmed that the posts made for the Chinese audience were published by Chinese publisher NetEase, specifically the post regarding the "pride of China".
Read the entire interview here.
What are your thoughts regarding the Blitzchung incident and do you think Blizzard is in the right here?