The incident has also made its way into the mainstream media, both Republicans as well as Democrats criticize the decision.

Meanwhile, in the subreddit r/HongKong, an action has been started to turn the Overwatch character Mei into a symbol for the protests in Hong Kong.

It would be a shame if Mei became a symbol for freedom from r/Blizzard

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“It would be a real shame if Mei from Overwatch becomes a symbol of democracy and leads to Blizzard’s games being banned in China,” writes one Reddit user. “Let’s fight back by making Mei a pro-democracy symbol!” reads one popular Tweet.

Within a short time, the first posters and artwork including slogans and supporting messages followed. Mei is shown in the colors of Hong Kong or wearing a gas mask, as the protesters do.

The reason for the criticism is that many suspect financial reasons behind Blizzard’s decision. And by turning Mei into a protest symbol, the company could be harmed.

Mei the Force be with Hong Kong from r/HongKong

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And there is turmoil in the world of Hearthstone as well. At the end of a match between Worcester Polytechnic Institute and American University, the team from the latter held up a placard reading “Freedom for Hong Kong, boycott Blizzard”.

Subsequently, the picture showed only the other team, but only after the message could be seen. It is not known if the American University team will face any consequences.

If we are gonna do it, we are gonna do it big: Mei becomes the icon of Hong Kong revolution! from r/HongKong

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And even at Blizzard itself, there are many employees who disagree with the decision. On the Blizzard campus in Irvine, California, a statue of an orc has been placed, with mottos such as “Think globally” or “Every voice matters” placed all around. On Twitter, a picture can be seen how these mottos were covered with paper, apparently by employees.

The hashtag #BoycottBlizzard is still trending on Twitter, so the problem probably won’t just go away. It remains to be seen what the consequences will be.