Blizzard and the Chinese company NetEase are ending their collaboration at the beginning of 2023. Almost all Blizzard games will then temporarily cease their service in China. Dragonflight, the new expansion of World of Warcraft, is still set to release – just like everything else until then. One executive at NetEase is saddened.
This is the situation:
- NetEase has been Blizzard’s partner for video game distribution in China since 2008, one of the largest and most important gaming markets in the world.
- However, the two companies announced: as of January 24, 2023, the collaboration will be terminated. Games like World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, and Diablo 3 will no longer be available for purchase or play in China. The servers will be shut down.
- The reason is that they could not agree on the details of the contract. As Bloomberg reports, it is also about user data. Blizzard China, managed by NetEase, has now released further information. An executive from NetEase has also spoken out.
This is what the executive says: Blizzard China states that all user data and accounts will be “sealed”, presumably archived. They will handle them according to the law. Whether this means that players will regain access to their accounts when Blizzard finds a new partner in China is unknown.
The president of global investments and partnerships at NetEase, Simon Zhu, emphasizes in a post on LinkedIn that no agreement was reached. He is also a passionate gamer:
As a gamer who has spent tens of thousands of hours in Azeroth, StarCraft, and Overwatch, it breaks my heart that I will no longer have access to my account and my memories starting next year. One day, when what happened behind the scenes can be told, developers and gamers will understand in entirely new ways how much damage one individual can cause.
We still cannot say exactly who Zhu is referring to or what the person is alleged to have done that has caused Blizzard and almost all its games to now disappear from China.
By the way, WoW Dragonflight will still be released in China, but will only be playable for a short time. Here is the intro cinematic:
Dragonflight will still appear in China
In a statement from Blizzard China, which is managed by NetEase, the company reiterates that almost all games and services will be discontinued as of January 24 at 0:00. An exception is Diablo Immortal, which is hugely successful in China and is managed under a separate deal.
However, all services for WoW, Hearthstone, and Overwatch 2 are expected to remain available until January 23. All newly released games can still be purchased. This includes the upcoming Hearthstone expansion “March of the Lich King” and the new WoW expansion Dragonflight, which will be released on November 29.
Chinese WoW fans may thus only be able to play Dragonflight for about 2 months before the servers are shut down again. From November 23 to January 23, all services for WoW, Hearthstone, and Overwatch 2 should remain available.
As of November 23, it will also no longer be possible to create new accounts or use the “Recharge” service. Dragonflight may need to be pre-ordered, although there may be a translation error here.
By the way, there was also a stir earlier this year regarding the then-CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick:
