NetEase Games and Blizzard Entertainment to suspend most game services in China in January

Many Blizzard games will no longer be available nor playable in China starting January 23, 2023, after Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase Games were unable to reach a new renewal deal.

After that date, Chinese players will no longer be able to play World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo III, Warcraft III, Heroes of the Storm, and StarCraft titles.

Both Blizzard and NetEase first reached a deal back in August of 2008.

Blizzard already had a deal with company The9 to meet government requirements since 2004. The specific requirements were that games released in China must be published and operated by a majority-owned Chinese company and that each title published requires a government-issued ISBN.

The licensing deal with The9 ended due to “certain operational issues.” Blizzard then announced its contract with NetEase. Chinese players were introduced to World of Warcraft since its arrival in the country in 2009. Diablo III made its debut in 2012 and Overwatch arrived in 2016, selling over 10 million units.

Though the deal with NetEase is coming to an end, Blizzard may be looking for another partner in China. However, the games will have to go through an approval process once again.

Sources told The Wall Street Journal that Blizzard is in talks with a few Chinese companies including Tencent.

The cancellation of the renewal deal does not affect the work on Diablo Immortal. It also does not affect Blizzard’s agreements with other Chinese companies. Tencent is in charge of the development and operation of Call of Duty: Mobile in China.

“We have put in a great deal of effort and tried with our utmost sincerity to negotiate with Activision Blizzard so that we could continue our collaboration and serve the many dedicated players in China. However, there were material differences on key terms and we could not reach an agreement. We hold high regard in our product and operational standards and abide by our commitments to Chinese players. We are honored to have had the privilege of serving our gamers over the past 14 years and have shared many precious moments with them during that time. We will continue our promise to serve our players well until the last minute. We will make sure our players’ data and assets are well protected in all of our games,” said NetEase CEO William Ding.

“We’re immensely grateful for the passion our Chinese community has shown throughout the nearly 20 years we’ve been bringing our games to China through NetEase and other partners,” said Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra. “Their enthusiasm and creativity inspire us, and we are looking for alternatives to bring our games back to players in the future.”

[Sources]: NetEase: NetEase Announces Non-Renewal of Licenses with Blizzard – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. Blizzard: Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase Suspending Game Services in China – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. Niko Partners: Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase severing ties – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. WSJ: Activision Blizzard to End Most Game Services in China, NetEase Partnership – [Archive] – [Screenshot].