Blizzard and NetEase will probably never be friends again. The Chinese company destroys an orc statue and criticizes Blizzard harshly.
For Chinese Blizzard fans, the last few days must have been extremely frustrating. A few months ago, Blizzard announced that it would end its long-standing partnership with NetEase. Games like World of Warcraft and Hearthstone will no longer be offered in China.
What did NetEase do? After Blizzard published a post yesterday and told the Chinese players that unfortunately it had not been able to reach a compromise with NetEase, it seems NetEase could not let that go unchallenged. Apparently, the Chinese company believes they are being blamed here.
Blizzard made it clear that it only wants to extend the current contract by 6 months to look for new partners during that time, to whom it will then grant a longer contract (over 3 years). According to NetEase, it stated (translated):
For unknown reasons, Blizzard reached out to NetEase again last week with an offer to achieve a so-called 6-month extension of the game services and other conditions, clarifying that they would not stop searching for other potential partners during that time. As far as we know, all other negotiations by Blizzard with other partners are based on a 3-year contract. Considering the non-reciprocity, unfairness, and other conditions related to the company, the parties ultimately could not reach an agreement.
From our perspective, Blizzard’s proposal – and today’s surprising announcement – is garbage, inappropriate, and commercially illogical. [Blizzard’s] self-overestimation fails to take into account how players and NetEase stand in this matter, with their “we want it all, riding a donkey while looking for a horse and ‘we break up but stay together’ behavior.
Huge Orc Statue Destroyed, Blizzard Deeply Insulted
A future cooperation between Blizzard and NetEase now seems almost completely excluded due to the recent reactions. After the failed negotiations, NetEase has not only begun to destroy its previous offices but also to demolish the gigantic orc axe. You can see a clip of this radical destruction action on wowhead.
NetEase employees were able to participate in this “action” and were later rewarded with a “Blizzard Green Tea.” This may seem odd at first, but in the Chinese context, “Green Tea” is a modern, quite strong (and often sexist) insult. Women referred to as “Green Tea Bitches” are those who outwardly seem elevated, conservative, and noble while presenting themselves as “pure and innocent” – but in reality are “self-absorbed whores” who are only concerned with their outward appearance (especially on social media).
So it can be concluded that NetEase is “a little” furious about the failed deal. The idea that Blizzard and NetEase will ever cooperate again seems unlikely at this point.
What do you think about this approach? Can you understand NetEase’s reaction? Or is it simply unprofessional?
