Fortnite developer Epic Games is vowing to never punish players for talking about political issues—even when it comes to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
"Epic supports the rights of Fortnite players and creators to speak about politics and human rights," CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted on Wednesday.
The announcement comes after Blizzard Entertainment suspended an esports player after he called for the liberation of Hong Kong during a live stream this past weekend. In response, gamers have been calling for a boycott of Blizzard, claiming the US company is kowtowing to the Chinese government, which has been censoring and condemning the protest movement in Hong Kong.
The ongoing controversy is causing many to wonder where the major US gaming companies stand on letting their players speak up about politics. Sweeney weighed in on Twitter, telling the public his company would never punish a Fortnite player for mentioning "Free Hong Kong" in an esports event interview.
Epic is a US company and I'm the controlling shareholder. Tencent is an approximately 40% shareholder, and there are many other shareholders including employees and investors. — Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 9, 2019
Sweeney acknowledged his company is 40 percent owned by the Chinese tech giant Tencent, which follows China's strict rules on internet censorship. But according to Sweeney, he remains the "controlling shareholder," and "there are many other shareholders including employees and investors."
A Twitter user then asked if the company would ever cut ties with an esports player over a similar controversy. "That will never happen on my watch as the founder, CEO, and controlling shareholder," Sweeney replied.
So far, Blizzard has yet to respond to the ongoing controversy. But the company's decision has drawn criticism from US lawmakers.
"Blizzard shows it is willing to humiliate itself to please the Chinese Communist Party," US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) in a tweet on Tuesday. "No American company should censor calls for freedom to make a quick buck."
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, on the other hand, said the controversy was an example of China using its influence to pressure a US company "to crush free speech globally." He suggested "Implications of this will be felt long after everyone in US politics today is gone."
On Wednesday, Rubio indicated Blizzard could face regulatory scrutiny. In a tweet, the senator said he asked the Trump administration to enforce anti-boycott laws in attempt to prevent US companies from conforming to China's government views.
However, Blizzard has framed its decision to suspend the player, "Blitzchung," as more about breaking company rules on esports competition, which prohibit offending the public. "While we stand by one's right to express individual thoughts and opinions, players and other participants that elect to participate in our esports competitions must abide by the official competition rules," Blizzard said in a Tuesday blog post.