We call on Blizzard Entertainment and Microsoft Gaming to take immediate, transparent, and effective action against repeated harassment, insults, and abusive conduct on Battle.net and Blizzard games, including StarCraft II.

 

For years, many players have reported toxic and abusive behavior in Blizzard games, including insults, harassment, threats, griefing, and repeated verbal abuse. These behaviors are not rare isolated incidents. Insults and harassment have become part of the normal experience of playing Blizzard games online.

 

In games such as StarCraft II, where competitive matches, team games, and public chat channels are central to the experience, insults and harassment can quickly become unavoidable for players who simply want to play normally.

 

This is unacceptable.

 

Blizzard games should be places of entertainment, teamwork, competition, and community. Instead, too many players are made to feel uncomfortable, stressed, discouraged, or unsafe because they are insulted or harassed very quickly during matches, simply for participating in normal gameplay.

 

Toxic players must understand that if they insult, harass, or abuse another player, they will face immediate and serious consequences, including suspension or permanent removal from the platform.

 

This issue is even more serious because Blizzard games are played by people of all ages, including minors. No one - including children and younger players - should be ever exposed to repeated insults, harassment, and abusive conduct, especially in environments where the company has full control over the platform, as well as the tools, authority, and responsibility to intervene.

 

Blizzard has the technical means and contractual authority to act. It controls Battle.net accounts, chat systems, reporting tools, moderation systems, suspensions, restrictions, and bans. Blizzard can identify repeated abusive behavior, review reports, restrict toxic players, suspend accounts, and permanently ban users who repeatedly insult or harass others.

 

Yet , reporting abusive behavior leads to little or no visible action. This creates the impression that Battle.net and Blizzard games are poorly moderated spaces where insults and harassment are tolerated.

 

This damages the player community and Blizzard’s public reputation.

 

A gaming company should not allow abusive conduct to become normal simply because it happens online. If a player insults, harasses, threatens, or targets others, there should be clear consequences.

 

Reporting systems must be meaningful, not symbolic.

 

Simply put, if anyone uses a slur or demeaning insult such as “retard” in chat, they should face immediate and meaningful consequences that make it clear this behavior is unacceptable, immoral, and unlawful in most jurisdictions where public insults are a punishable offense.

 

We are asking Blizzard Entertainment and Microsoft Gaming to:

• Enforce Blizzard’s own rules consistently against insults, harassment, threats, and abusive conduct.
• Improve moderation systems so that abusive players are restricted, suspended, or banned more effectively.
• Provide clearer feedback to players who report abuse, while respecting privacy rules.
• Increase protection for minors and vulnerable players exposed to toxic behavior.
• Publish clearer transparency information about moderation actions, repeat offenders, and enforcement standards.
• Treat repeated verbal abuse and harassment as a serious safety issue, not as a normal part of online gaming.
• Ensure that Battle.net and Blizzard games are safe, respectful, and properly moderated spaces.

If Blizzard continues to fail to enforce its own rules and protect players, including minors, we call on the relevant consumer protection, online safety, and law enforcement authorities to investigate Blizzard’s handling of abuse reports and its systemic failure to moderate harmful conduct.

 

People deserve better than a lawless online environment where harassment, insults, and abusive conduct are deliberately tolerated by the platform instead of being met with serious consequences.