Blizzard recently launched its team-based multiplayer first-person shooter “Overwatch” earlier in May 2016. The game immediately became popular among fans, as well as porn-makers. Blizzard is now attempting to stop the porn parodies from spreading.
Rule 34 of the internet is a generally accepted concept that pornography or sexually related material exists for any kind of conceivable subject. “Overwatch,” which is a conceivable subject, has also been the target of porn content, which the company frowned upon.
Since the beta version of the game became available on May 5, 2016, sexual interpretations of it have spread all over the internet. In particular, Pornhub searches for “Overwatch” has grown by 800 percent since the beta version went live. Tracer was the most searched character.
According to PCGamesN, a number of porn creators have received notices for copyright infringement. Some of them have not received the news well, saying that Blizzard had double standards in its recent actions.
CNet revealed that Blizzard has begun issuing takedown notices. One porn creator complained about Blizzard’s actions, comparing these to removing fan art. The porn-maker, named spornm, resorted to Reddit to air out his frustrations and asked fans to tell Blizzard to stop policing the type of content that they wish for people to see. He explained how model makers exert a lot of effort in making their own versions of the characters, since Blizzard does not readily feature these.
Spornm continued that Blizzard will have to take down every other fan film and video on streaming sites that features any type of gameplay, since these also use models from the game. He stated that ultimately, Blizzard is merely choosing, but not taking down porn in its entirety, which is ithe problem.
As for Blizzard, it is keeping true with its company guidelines of maintaining and protecting the image of their games. The company requires the development team to maintain the “T” rating given to its products by the ESRB. The company has not yet responded to the comments.
It is still uncertain whether Blizzard will successfully fight back Rule 34. In the meantime, “Overwatch” is reportedly one of the company’s more progressive games when it comes to representing female characters. Blizzard pointed out Zarya as someone who is quite different from the stereotypical image of game female characters. They also wanted to feature diversity in body types.
More updates and details on “Overwatch” and its porn parodies are expected soon.