Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase could sign a new partnership agreement to publish games in China, according to a number of Chinese media. The previous agreement expired almost a year ago.
According to media reports, Blizzard first wanted to enter into a partnership with another gaming company. In particular, she negotiated with Tencent and ByteDance. However, it was not possible to reach an agreement, so she returned to NetEase.
It is not reported when Blizzard games may become available to Chinese users again. The South China Morning Post suggests that at least World of Warcraft will not return to the country for at least six months, as companies need to reassemble the technical team and test the servers.
As an indirect confirmation of Blizzard's plans to return to China, the media cite a change in the section on the NetEase forum dedicated to World of Warcraft. Journalists noticed the missing announcement of the termination of the partnership between Blizzard and NetEase.
Blizzard and NetEase did not comment on the media information.
It is important to note that many Chinese media refer to the 36Kr article. However, it did not claim that the companies had signed an agreement, but only talked about Blizzard's return to China and noted that NetEase was the most likely partner. Perhaps in the future, the effect of a damaged phone occurred, and the information was distorted.
Recall that Blizzard shut down the servers of most of its games in China on January 23, 2023. The only exception was the mobile Diablo Immortal. Both companies reported that they could not agree on terms, and NetEase called the proposed agreement outrageous and stated that it did not take into account the interests of either NetEase itself or gamers.