Hearthstone. [Photo/IC]

Hearthstone, a popular digital collectible card game developed by the US-based Blizzard Entertainment, was disqualified as an e-sports medal event in the upcoming 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022.

The decision was confirmed by the Olympic Council of Asia on Thursday during the fifth coordination committee meeting after being proposed by the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee and the Asian Electronic Sports Federation.

The cancellation was due to the expiration of the partnership between Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase, the developer's Chinese operator. The two companies were unable to come to a contract renewal agreement, leaving the game's operating team and servers suspended, which made it impossible for Hearthstone to meet the prerequisites to be included in the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The total number of e-sports medal events in the quadrennial continental games has now dropped to seven, consisting of Dota 2, League of Legends, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA, Street Fighter V, Arena of Valor, and PUBG Mobile.

It will be the first time in history that e-sports be included as an official medal event in the Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, from Sept 23 to Oct 8.

A bird's-eye view of the China Hangzhou E-sports Center in Gongshu district. [Photo/hangzhou2022.cn]