Gaming company Blizzard is urging websites to take down porn contents that depicts some of the characters from its released multiplayer first-person shooter "Overwatch." Following the game's beta release on May 5, popular porn website Pornhub reported an increase of 800 percent in searches for "Overwatch"-related content.

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Many are unhappy with Blzzard's decision. A porn creator even went as far as posting his grievances to the Overwatch subreddit. The content creator compared Blizzard's move to taking down fan art.

Blizzard is known for its liberal policy towards videos, arts, and contents created by its fans. The company even allows some of its assets from certain games to be used in free fan content. However, Blizzard's guidelines create states that, "To maintain and protect the image of our games, Blizzard also required that Productions maintain the 'T' rating that has been given to its products by ESRB."

According to PC Gamer, some porn creators said that Blizzard has hired the services of a company named Irdeto to issue takedown notices when inappropriate images of copyrighted materials are being shared on platforms like Tumblr and Pornhub.

Blizzard is yet to release a statement regarding the takedown claims. The company has not confirmed or denied its involvement with Irdeto to carry out these takedowns.

Some tech analysts have said that the company is not only fighting to keep its intellectual property rights but also for a higher moral ground. While the company does allow the use of its assets for fan-created content, Blizzard clearly states that it should be used properly. Although some analysts have said that the porn material based on "Overwatch" is still a marketing tool, it is apparently not the kind of marketing that Blizzard wants "Overwatch" to be associated with, according to PC Mag.

TagsOverwatch, Porn, pornhub, Overwatch news, Video games, blizzard, DMCA