Blizzard was slammed by WoW cataclysm Gold First Champion, before Reconsidering His the Decision

Blizzard changed its mind in part previous decision and has apologized for its unclear policies. It has reduced Blitzchung's suspension to six months (from an entire year) and also returned his winnings. Blitzchung himself has stated that it's a pleasure to see the company return his winnings, however the player isn't sure yet whether he'll be able to return to the game after it's lifted. The original story is here.

The decision of Blizzard to severely punish the professional WoW Cataclysm Classic player Blitzchung has already drawn criticism from all sides of the political spectrum as well as the gaming community. A second prominent person has joined the chorus of criticism with his own thoughts that of the original WoW Cataclysm Classic World Champion.

"I believe that he isn't required to do that. It's definitely contrary to the rules of Grandmasters," Kostesich said. "But it's absolutely absurd to see how much he got penalized for this. I think there's some other motive behind it, perhaps to make a mockery of him or somethingelse, because it's really ridiculous. I believe they're in the wrong position to punish him this much. It's like killing the man's WoW Cataclysm Classic career, or even attempting to do so. It's extremely sad to witness. I would like to see them help their athletes more. If I use one player for an example, it isn't a good feeling for me."

Kostesich's remarks are the latest in a string of harsh criticisms aimed at Blizzard including current US Senators and other companies that compete with Blizzard and even Blizzard's own employees. Kibler has resigned from his role as a Grandmasterscaster in protest.

The incident started after Ng Wai Chung aka "Blitzchung" declared his sympathy for Hong Kong protests during a post-match interview. Blizzard claimed that this was in violation of its policy against conduct that "brings the person into disrepute or offends a particular portion or even a subset of the public or in any way harms the image of Blizzard." In retaliation, Chung was banned from competition for a year, and was forced to forfeit his $10,000 of winnings.

Kibler and Kostesich believe Chung was in fact guilty of an infraction to the rule however, the one-year ban and the $10,000 at stake that appears to be too harsh.

However, Blizzard fans are still organizing to boycott. Many members of the buy WoW cataclysm Gold subreddit have made it clear that they will be leaving the game, or have deleted accounts. A few players have also asked WoW Cataclysm Classic streamers to quit the game out of protest. This has prompted a well-known streamer, Disguised Toast, to say that such a demand isn't always feasible, but he did issue an alternative ultimatum of his own.