On January 23, Blizzard had to shut down its service in China. The studio did not extend its long-term contract with the Chinese publisher NetEase and did not find a new partner. This means millions of players lose access to their favorite games.
What happened? After 14 years, the partnership between Blizzard Entertainment and the Chinese publisher NetEase came to an end. Already in November 2022, the companies announced that they could not reach an agreement. They reiterated this position last week. For Blizzard, this is a significant loss: Blizzard loses 666 million potential players for WoW, Overwatch, and Diablo
The exact circumstances behind the breakdown of relations are unknown. However, it is assumed that there was significant trouble behind the scenes. Both companies shift the blame for the situation onto each other. After Blizzard’s split: NetEase goes wild, destroys Orc statue and insults fiercely
A proposal from Blizzard to extend the contract under the old conditions for 6 months was rejected by NetEase. Blizzard wanted to guarantee that Chinese players would continue to have access to their games while searching for a new distribution partner. NetEase, on the other hand, was only interested in a long-term collaboration.
Why does Blizzard need a Chinese partner? In general, western companies need a Chinese partner and the appropriate governmental license to publish games in China.
In recent years, the Chinese government has shown a greater interest in the form and content of foreign titles. The censorship authorities fear a harmful influence from the West. Additionally, the government is concerned that excessive gaming could negatively affect the youth. Therefore, in 2021, a law was enacted that limits children’s and adolescents’ gaming time on Fridays, weekends, and official holidays to a maximum of 1 hour per day. Apparently with success: The youth of China is cured, their gaming addiction has been driven out.
A small consolation: While Blizzard takes the servers offline, Tencent launches an MMORPG in China that resembles WoW remarkably.
Players fear for their accounts
What does this mean for the players? While Blizzard and NetEase argue about a contract, Chinese players are suffering. Although the end of the partnership was foreseeable, it means that players lose access to their accounts from one day to the next.
The Chinese community has not been able to access their Blizzard accounts since January 23. This is particularly bitter for players, as their mounts, transmogs, achievements in WoW, card collections in Hearthstone, or skins in Overwatch are simply gone.
Even with a VPN, they currently have no way to access their accounts. These are tied to the respective region. A VPN is a tool that allows people from China to bypass the state firewall and access western services like Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook.
No wonder that many players in China are disappointed and frustrated. Some express their anger on social media channels. The Twitter account @XiaoT_HS posted a picture of his Hearthstone collection and commented on it with the words: “Disconnected. I may never log in again.” Even Ben Brode, the former head of Hearthstone, expresses his sympathy for the Chinese community and addressed the following words on Twitter: “God, this is so tragic!”
The situation is difficult, but there is a glimmer of hope
What happens next? The situation is deadlocked, as long as Blizzard doesn’t find a new partner, the servers will remain offline. Although Blizzard offers Chinese players a service with which they can secure their accounts. However, it remains unclear if and when they will regain access.
It could actually get worse if the Chinese government decides to permanently exclude Blizzard from their market. In the past, a similar fate has already been meted out with other licenses. China banned the global version of Steam, and in its place, there is now a Chinese version. However, this only offers about 100 titles.
It is also possible that a new partner will emerge that wants to collaborate with Blizzard. Industry speculation suggests that Chinese publishers want to wait for the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. For the players, the hope remains that an agreement will be reached as soon as possible.
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