Riot Games asks to refrain from "sensitive" statements during League of Legends broadcasts

Riot Games has released a statement detailing its position on the issue of political statements during its League of Legends broadcasts. Ahead of the League of Legends World Championship group stage, global head of MOBA esports John Needham has gone on record saying that Riot Games wants to avoid political, religious or other "sensitive issues" during its broadcasts.

“As a general rule, we want our broadcasts to be focused on the game, sports and players,” the statement said. We cater to fans from many different countries and cultures, and we believe that this opportunity imposes a responsibility to express personal views on sensitive issues (political, religious or otherwise). These topics are often incredibly nuanced, require deep understanding and a willingness to listen, and cannot be fairly represented in the forum our broadcast provides. Therefore, we have reminded our hosts and professional players to refrain from discussing any of these topics on the air.

Our decision also reflects that we have employees and fans in regions where there has been (or is at risk of) political and/or social unrest, including places like Hong Kong. We believe we have an obligation to do everything we can to ensure that statements or actions on our official platforms (whether intentional or not) do not escalate potentially sensitive situations.”

This statement is a response to annual ban tournaments that Blizzard Entertainment imposed on professional player Chan blitzchung Chung Ng Wai in a Hearthstone tournament for expressing his support for the Hong Kong protests live. He was also stripped of his prize money. The company's actions provoked a wide reaction. Blizzard Entertainment has already softened the “sentence” of blitzchung: the ban has been reduced to six months, and the well-deserved prize money will still be paid to him.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, too expressed on this matter: the company will not take action against professional Fortnite players or content creators for speaking out on political issues.

Riot Games is wholly owned by the Chinese gaming company Tencent. The latter also owns a 40 percent stake in Epic Games and a 5 percent stake in Activision Blizzard (which has partnered with NetEase to release numerous franchises in China, including Hearthstone, World of Warcraft and Overwatch).

Source: 3dnews.ru