Organizers Plan Online Protest Ahead of Blizzard's Annual Convention

Gamers for Freedom will call for sponsors to drop out of the event.

Fight for the Future, a nonprofit advocacy group, is organizing an online protest of Blizzard Entertainment ahead of the company's upcoming BlizzCon event in Anaheim.

"On Oct. 29, activists and gamers will launch an all-out campaign to demand game developers and BlizzCon sponsors take a stand and state that they will not participate in authoritarian censorship," the organization said Thursday in a statement.

The demonstration is in response to Blizzard's suspension of professional Hearthstone player Chung "Blitzchung" Ng Wai for voicing support of pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong during an official live stream earlier this month. Following the initial suspension (which was supposed to last one year), Blizzard president J. Allen Brack walked back the ban to six months and reinstated Chung's prize earnings from competitive tournaments.

BlizzCon, an annual convention where Blizzard traditionally unveils plans for upcoming game titles, is set to run Nov. 1-2. Protests of the company are expected to take place at the event.

As part of the protest, participants are encouraged to use the #GamersforFreedom hashtag on social media.

“Many people have reached out saying they want to do more, but cannot make it to the protests in Anaheim. Now, they can," said Dayton Young, product director at Fight for the Future. "We’re calling on sponsors to pull out. And most of all, we’re calling on game developers to speak out in solidarity."