Blizzard, the studio behind huge titles like Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo, will no longer collaborate with the Chinese company NetEase starting in February 2023. As a result, PC games like WoW or Overwatch 2 will no longer be playable in China’s vast market. NetEase recently developed Diablo Immortal, the controversial Diablo MMO on PC, iOS, and Android.
Which studio is it about?
- NetEase is the studio and publisher behind games like the MMORPG Justice Online, which is set to release in the West in 2022 or Naraka: Bladepoint, which became a huge success on Steam.
- The company has also co-developed Diablo Immortal, the controversial mobile Diablo. At the release of Diablo Immortal, there were issues in China. The trigger was reportedly a single sentence.
- NetEase has been a partner of Blizzard in China since 2008 and is responsible for distributing Blizzard games there. In China, Western companies must have a local partner to even be granted a license to offer products in China. As Bloomberg reports, the contract is set to expire after January 2023.
- Update: One of the executives at NetEase has also commented. He says: “one jerk alone” is to blame for thousands of gamers having to do without games now.
Why is there no new deal? The two companies apparently could not come to an agreement on the terms of the new contract. NetEase itself states in a statement:
We have made every effort and sincerely tried to negotiate with Activision Blizzard so that we can continue our collaboration and serve the many enthusiastic players in China. However, there were fundamental differences on key points and we could not reach an agreement.
According to Bloomberg, based on internal discussions and insider information, some of the key points besides finances were intellectual property and the data of millions of players in China.
According to reporters Jason Schreier and Zheping Huang, the tensions between the USA and China were a significant topic. American politicians have criticized the Chinese video platform TikTok, categorizing it as a national security issue.
Chinese players will likely have to do without WoW: Dragonflight for the time being in early 2023. The intro cinematic has already thrilled many fans:
World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch – What happens now?
The sale and offering of almost all Blizzard games in China will come to an end at the end of January 2023. This means that players there will no longer have access to Overwatch 2, the new expansion Dragonflight for WoW, or other games from Blizzard.
How long this situation will last is still uncertain. In 2008, Blizzard searched for a new partner in China after the deal with The9 was not extended. At that time, WoW fans could not play the MMORPG for a month.
Diablo Immortal, meanwhile, is reportedly not affected. The mobile game was finalized with a separate contract and will continue to operate in China.
News Hits NetEase’s Stock Price
According to Bloomberg, NetEase’s value in China fell by 15% after the news of the failed deal became public. China was responsible for at least 3% of Activision Blizzard’s revenue for 2021 alone.
The value of Activision Blizzard’s stock could also drop now. The stock market in the USA is currently still closed.
Whether there are already discussions between Blizzard and Tencent to ensure distribution in China in the future is not yet known. Activision Blizzard is currently in the midst of one of the largest deals in gaming history:
