Esports reporter Richard Lewis claims Blizzard knew about Ellie situation for weeks prior to controversy
Blizzard EntertainmentBlizzard was aware of Punisherow, the player revealed to be behind the infamous ‘Ellie’ Overwatch account last week, before the ‘Ellie’ Twitter account was even created, according to esports reporter Richard Lewis.
‘Ellie’ came from out of nowhere a few weeks ago and quickly climbed up Overwatch’s competitive ladder before being signed to Contenders team Second Wind.
There were some players who had questions about who was really behind the account, and some who defended it, until last week, when it was revealed that a Top 500 player named Punisherow was the one who had created and was actually playing on the account.
During a Twitch stream on Sunday, January 6, Lewis said he had two sources inside the company who confirmed that Blizzard “were tipped off in advance that there was a player impersonating girls, looking, or maybe trying to get drafted and all of this stuff.”
Blizzard was aware of the situation before ‘Ellie’s’ Twitter account was even created, according to Lewis.
“And Blizzard just did nothing with that information,” he told viewers on stream. “They just let it sit there, and they did nothing.”
The company could have failed to act, Lewis suggested, because they need the “drama clicks’ for Overwatch.
“At this point, I almost think, Blizzard needs the fucking drama clicks, I think Blizzard needs the attention of the incompetency of their fuckups because what are we really talking about with the game anymore?”
“What are we really talking about with Overwatch anymore?” Lewis asked viewers. “Keep playing, maybe it will get fun one day. Nah, it’s already swirling down the pan.”
Blizzard, for their part, did say that they discovered Ellie wasn’t who they claimed to be after an investigation, but since they were never officially signed to Second Wind, the process of confirming their identity never actually began.