Riot Games forbids League of Legends players from discussing politics

Blizzard found itself in hot water this week after banning pro Hearthstone player Chung “Blitzchung” Ng from competition for a year and stripping him of his earnings after he voiced support for Hong Kong during a recent esports tournament. This was met by backlash from both outside and within the company for appeasing the Chinese government, but was largely met with silence from other companies. Riot Games has now spoken out, and it looks to make the situation even worse as the studio has forbid professional League of Legends Players and commentators from discussing politics on air.

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John Needham, Global Head of League of Legends esports, put forth a statement on Twitter that summed up the company’s policy on talking about “sensitive issues.”

Riot Games is owned by Tencent, one of the world’s largest and most lucrative gaming companies based in China. Though Riot insists on not picking sides and remaining neutral, it’s clear where this statement is truly coming from and who it is in support of.

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