The upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games will see a major omission in the esports program, as it has been announced that Blizzard’s Hearthstone won’t be part of it.
In a statement released by the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF), the organisers confirmed the decision surrounding Hearthstone’s removal from the 19th edition of the Asian Games. In the upcoming competition, the esports program will now feature seven titles including PUBG Mobile, Dota 2, League of Legends, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA, Street Fighter V, and Arena of Valor.
The fifth Coordination Committee meeting for the 19th Asian Games held on Mar 16 announces that “Hearthstone” is cancelled as the Games’ officially listed Esports medal events which is now reduced to 7 in number.#Hangzhou #AsianGames #Esports #Hearthstone @AESF_Official pic.twitter.com/JkTzj4NPys
— 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Official (@19thAGofficial) March 16, 2023
The decision to remove Hearthstone has been made by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in accordance with the proposals made by the AESF and Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC).
The removal of the title stems from Blizzard’s current situation in mainland China, after the publishers failed to reach an agreement with NetEase last year. With no agreement in place with a licensing partner in China, games like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, StarCraft, Diablo III and more, are now unavailable to play in the nation.
With no management team and servers to host Hearthtone in mainland China, the game now won’t be part of the Hangzhou Asian Games, despite the best efforts made by the AESF to resolve the problems. Hearthstone will be majorly missed by players, as it was part of the 2018 edition of the Games, which took place in Jakarta-Palembang in Indonesia.
