19th Asian Games 2023: OCA announces the removal of Hearthstone from the Esports program at the upcoming 19th Asian Games – Olympic Council of Asia announce the removal of Hearthstone from the Esports program at 19th Asian Games which will take place at Hangzhou. In November 2022, there were negotiations between Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase regarding the extension of operating rights and their partnership agreeent ended without reaching a conclusion. For future updates on ESports and Gaming, folllow InsideSport.IN.
As a result, all servers hosting Hearthstone on the Chinese Mainland have completely been shut down and the team managing the game has also been disbanded. This has left the game in a state where it is very much unable to be included as one of the competition events at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
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
Efforts were made to resolve the issue with the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF). However, there was no significant progress in finding a solution.
After extensive discussions with the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC), it was proposed that Hearthstone be removed from the competition program.
On the 16th of March, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) confirmed the decision proposed by HAGOC and the AESF for the removal of Heartstone during the fifth Coordination Committee meeting.
The AESF extends a warm invitation to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and Esport Associations to register and participate in the remaining seven Esports titles at the Hangzhou Asian Games. We remain fully dedicated to providing a world-class platform for Esports athletes to showcase their skills and abilities to the world. We sincerely hope you will join us in making history at the Hangzhou Asian Games and demonstrate the boundless potential of Esports as a major sporting phenomenon.
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