Battlegrounds can’t catch a break, now a Tavern Pass survey brought up the controversy, once again. Is Blizzard blaming the messenger?
It’s no secret that the community didn’t receive the Battlegrounds Tavern Pass well, but is Blizzard now blaming streamers for that? In a survey distributed by Blizzard about the Battlegrounds Tavern Pass, one of the options asked non-buyers if it was a consequence of hearing “bad things about it from streamers and/or content creators”.
When the community wasn’t paying attention to the topic, Blizzard threw itself into the eye of the storm again. RegisKillbin YouTube thumbnail used as the featured image magnificently represents the topic. Let’s go over what happened with this survey.
Content Creators' reaction to Battlegrounds Tavern Pass Survey
Between jokes and serious takes, content creators reacted to this Battlegrounds Tavern Pass Survey. The general feeling content creators showed was that Blizzard was blaming the messenger instead of researching the underlying reason the product performed how it did.
The most problematic of the questions was the one that asked the reasons why people didn’t buy the Battlegrounds Tavern Pass. The community felt that their main concerns on the product were at least underrepresented.
After many streamers gave their opinion, RegisKillbin made a video on the topic with an interesting analysis. To begin with, he mentions that it sounds strange to him that Blizzard is getting data on things they have little influence on.
This raises a red flag for those who spoke their mind and gave negative opinions about the Battlegrounds Tavern Pass. Should they start measuring their opinions? Could there be any repercussions moving forward?
RegisKillbin explained that he never felt pressured by Blizzard about any of his takes or opinions. However, we can’t deny the impact this might have on smaller streamers.
RDU and RegisKillbin were not the only ones who thought this survey didn’t sound right. Most prominent Battlegrounds content creators also felt this Battlegrounds Tavern Pass survey was, at least, unfortunate. Slysssa, Ninaisnoob, Sunglitters and, Zeddy, among others, showed some concern.
Blizzard responds
With the community and especially content creators upset about this survey, Alkali, Hearthstone Community Manager, addressed the topic on Twitter. Showing empathy with streamers and content creators, Alkali made sure that the issue was an honest mistake and a misunderstanding.
In the same tone, Nicholas “Decktech” Weiss, Hearthstone Associate Writer and active Twitter reference about any game matters answered RDU’s initial question. To be fair, what sparked this discussion was an honest question which RDU didn’t directly judge. He opened the possibility of him reading too much between the lines.
“You’re reading too much into it. They ask about several categories of people who you could’ve heard bad things about it from. They’re just asking who people are influenced by—it would be weird to not include content creators in that list.”
One thing we need to be fair about is that while Alkali and DeckTech are the ones answering these concerns, they are not the ones responsible for the monetization in the game. Let's don't kill the messengers ourselves.
Battlegrounds Tavern Pass survey conclusions
If you want to read the full survey to form your opinion, Steve Esterle screenshotted the questions and you can check this thread with every question. Furthermore, Ninaisnoob and Sunglitters took the survey in their last video together if you want to hear their input too.
I personally feel that RegisKillbin's video successfully explains the whole matter and I’d recommend you to watch it if you haven’t already. He is not only a seasoned content creator, but he has also studied the matter in the past, so there is some extra value in his insight.
I feel that all this Tavern Pass noise is driving the conversation away from the good content that Battlegrounds has as a game. Most streamers and pro players have praised the new Quest mechanic as one of the most fun content updates ever.
I’m not saying that there should be no discussion about the monetization changes the game suffered. On the contrary, it's paramount that the community expresses their discomfort with those measures. I just wish Blizzard were more effective at addressing those concerns, instead of throwing more fuel to the fire.
That’s all for now, but stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Battlegrounds news and updates. See you next time in Bob’s Tavern.