On April 9, NetEase's share price rose 4.1% to HK$157.5 (US$20) apiece. Shareholders have reacted positively to rumors that NetEase has agreed to re-publish Blizzard Entertainment games in China.
Diablo IV
CN Wire analyst wrote about the companies' decision to resume the partnership. As confirmation, he posted a photo allegedly from a meeting between the management of NetEase and Blizzard Entertainment.
It is assumed that the person in the photo is Netease CEO Ding Lei
According to CN Wire, the companies will officially announce the partnership on April 10.
It has been more than a year since NetEase practically stopped cooperating with Blizzard Entertainment. In January 2023, the companies expired an agreement to publish all Blizzard Entertainment games in China, except Diablo Immortal. The parties could not agree on an extension of the contract.
After the termination of the contract, Blizzard Entertainment began looking for a new Chinese publisher. She was rumored to be in talks with Tencent, Perfect World, ByteDance and Zhejiang Century Huatong. In December 2023, Chinese media reported that Blizzard Entertainment had settled its differences with NetEase and signed a new agreement, but no official announcements followed.