The Blizzard Catastrophie: Blizzard Esports Loses Sponsors

We’re literally two short days away from Blizzcon, and the reports are already flooding in that Blizzard is going to make this the one that counts: there are going to be the biggest announcements, the flashiest shows, and the biggest names. Were it any other year, people might be really hyped, but this year, we’re still in the shadow of the Blitzchung controversy, where Blizzard solidified their subservience to their Chinese overlords by banning and punishing a Hearthstone professional for trying to express solidarity with the protests engulfing his home city of Hong Kong.

And while I’m sure Blizzard would love nothing more than for that news to fade into obscurity as they prepare for their big show, unfortunately, it’s just not going away: and in fact, just now they probably got hit with the biggest, most dire consequence they could possibly dream of… they lost money.

Yes, they finally lost the one thing they care about most.

Mitsubishi Motors, the Taiwanese branch of the Japanese auto giant, had up until this point been a ‘proud sponsor’ of Blizzard’s esports events, which includes Hearthstone. However, several sharp-eyed fans noticed that a few days after Blizzard rendered their decision to punish Blitzchung, the Mitsubishi Motors logo vanished from Blizzard’s esport streams.

The Daily Beast reached out to Mitsubishi to confirm why the logo was removed, and they confirmed it was because of Blizzard’s actions. They did not elaborate on their actions, however.

Other sponsors of Blizzard’s esports ventures, which include Coca-Cola and ASUS, did not respond when reached out for comment. The same was said of Blizzard, but then, radio silence on this issue is very quickly becoming their MO.

We are two days away from what could very well be one of the biggest events in modern gaming history. I hope ya’ll have your popcorn at the ready.