Blizzard Pulls Out of China; Will Suspend Most Services in the Country
Blizzard has announced that it will not renew its licensing agreement with Chinese company NetEase. This means pulling out of China and leaving fans without new games, services and support.
Blizzard Entertainment has made a controversial decision with regard to Chinese players. The company will not renew its licensing agreement with NetEase Games, ending a partnership that has lasted since 2008.. The decision effectively means withdrawal from the local market. Blizzard's productions, such as Overwatch 2 or World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. will be released in China as planned, but sales, services (including support) and launch of other novelties will be halted starting January 23.
Not a big loss
Blizzard Entertainment explains its decision by, among other things, the inability to reach an agreement with the Chinese side. It must be admitted that China has never grown to be one of the main markets for the American company, as can be perfectly seen from Activision Blizzard's financial results for the third quarter of 2022. Sales in China accounted for just 3% of all revenue. This means that the withdrawal from this market will not be a painful experience for the company.
Strong words
NetEase's head of partnerships, Simon Zhu, spoke on the matter. On Twitter, he recalls with fondness the thousands of hours spent in, among others, World of Warcraft. Finally, he reproachfully wrote that someday it will be possible to tell what went on behind the scenes of the case. In doing so, he used the term "a jerk" - according to Tom Warren of The Verge, he meant Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, implying that the whole situation was his fault.
Sadness and grief
An official statement from NetEase struck a similar tone. Representatives argue that they have made every effort to ensure that the licensing agreement with Blizzard Entertainment is renewed. In its announcement, NetEase also notes that Diablo Immortal is a game co-developed by both entities, so it should not be withdrawn from China. There are also initial reports that the company is experiencing a 14% drop in value. So the situation doesn't look good for both NetEase and Chinese gamers attached to Blizzard games.
