Just Stop Oil protestors arrested after interrupting EGX tournament
Tekken match later resumed.
A group of Just Stop Oil protestors made a scene at EGX yesterday, and interrupted a Tekken esports tournament.
EGX, the UK's biggest games event, ran from Thursday to Sunday last week and is run by Eurogamer's parent company Reedpop.
Protestors attempted to squirt orange paint at a screen displaying an in-progress Tekken match, before daubing more on the two players' screens. They then began a short speech, before being dragged off by security.
After the protestors were removed, the Tekken tournament was then resumed without further incident.
According to a statement released by Just Stop Oil, its three protestors were later arrested for criminal damage by the Metropolitan Police.
"Video games let us escape into new and exciting dimensions, but real world physics are about to deliver the deaths of billions," a Just Stop Oil spokesperson said. "Put more carbon into the atmosphere at this point and it's game over.
"Gamers co-operate to win, and we need these skills to survive. Everyone must step up and join in civil resistance against new oil and gas, because this isn't a game. Let's unite to make this world safe, so that we can get back to exploring cyber worlds."
UK climate protest group Just Stop Oil has made headlines for briefly interrupting major events such as the Ashes cricket series, the Chelsea Flower Show and London Pride.
It says it targeted EGX specifically because the event has ties to Barclays Bank, and because oil giant Shell "sponsors" video game battle royale Fortnite.
Barclays is a sponsor of EGX's Rezzed Sessions stage, where UK indie developers discuss their upcoming game projects. Shell recently launched a promotional experience in Fortnite, made using the game's user-creation toolset.
"There was an incident on Sunday which was dealt with quickly by the venue security and authorities," an EGX spokesperson told Eurogamer today. "The people involved were removed peacefully from the show, and the esports tournament resumed quickly after a short reset."