I'm surprised at the reluctance to call this situation censorship, which for once, would actually apply.
That's part of what's unsettling about it to me: The specifics of what Blizzard has done are an extension of a state's propaganda goals re: seized territory and quelling a social uprising. The substance of what they're doing isn't internally motivated aside from greed, and they're punishing their own players in material ways to enforce China's censorship goals. That has a particular tinge of cruelty to it. Normally even when there are distasteful associations, the game company isn't the one carrying out the slimy stuff directly. And even when a game company does something slimy, it's of their own accord.
That's part of what's unsettling about it to me: The specifics of what Blizzard has done are an extension of a state's propaganda goals re: seized territory and quelling a social uprising. The substance of what they're doing isn't internally motivated aside from greed, and they're punishing their own players in material ways to enforce China's censorship goals. That has a particular tinge of cruelty to it. Normally even when there are distasteful associations, the game company isn't the one carrying out the slimy stuff directly. And even when a game company does something slimy, it's of their own accord.