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What you need to know
- Blizzard will suspend several of its games in China because it cannot reach an agreement with publisher NetEase.
- Simon Zhu, the president of NetEase, took to LinkedIn to criticize Blizzard, citing (sic) “how much damage an idiot can do.”
- The end of the partnership between Blizzard and NetEase does not affect Diablo Immortal, which is under a separate long-term license agreement.
Gamers in China will soon lose access to the vast majority of Blizzard’s Windows PC and mobile games. The gaming giant will suspend most of its game services in mainland China on January 23, 2023. World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch 2, Diablo III, the StarCraft series and other titles will be affected by the move. Activision Blizzard explained the situation in a recent post.
In short, Blizzard Entertainment has had a licensing agreement with NetEase since 2008. The companies could not come to an agreement “that is consistent with Blizzard’s operating principles and commitments to players and employees,” according to Activision Blizzard. As a result, players in China will lose access to a long list of titles.
In response to the announcement, NetEase President shared his thoughts on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab):
“As a gamer who spent ten thousand hours in the world of Azeroth, starcraft and overwatch, I feel so heartbroken that I will no longer have access to my account and memories next year. (sic)
One day, when what happened behind the scene could be told, developers and players will have a whole new level of understanding of how much damage an idiot can do.
Feel terrible for players who lived in those worlds.”
It’s not clear who Zhu thinks is a “dumb” at Blizzard, as he didn’t specify. Some, including Tom Warren of The Vergesuspect that Zhu was referring to Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in his post.
Blizzard will suspend new sales in China for the next few days. The company promised more details about the impact of the suspension on Chinese players.
Blizzard has clarified that the upcoming releases of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Hearthstone: March of the Lich King and season 2 of Overwatch 2 will all go ahead this year in existing markets, although China will not be among them. However, the end of Blizzard and NetEase’s partnership does not extend to the oft-criticized Diablo Immortal, which is under a separate long-term licensing agreement.
Our sources within Blizzard have expressed dismay at the implementation of Diablo Immortal’s monetization systems in the past — with some blaming NetEase for their aggressiveness and resemblance to real money playing with real money. Regardless, the end of Blizzard’s services in China will be a major blow to the company’s bottom line, as well as to its fans. Games like World of Warcraft are heavily censored in the country, but they remain popular despite the draconian laws surrounding games and Western IP in general.
Blizzard’s next big games launching include Diablo IV across Xbox and PC, with ongoing updates to Overwatch 2, and a huge World of Warcraft expansion called Dragonflight due to launch in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, Chinese players will miss out.
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