China’s NetEase Inc (網易) and US games peer Microsoft Corp yesterday said they would bring popular titles including World of Warcraft back to China after a fallout involving the developer that ended an almost 15-year partnership.
The pair are working to bring online games from Blizzard Entertainment Inc — a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard Inc, which Microsoft bought last year — back to the world’s second-largest economy, starting this summer, they said in a joint statement.
NetEase was the publisher of Blizzard games in China from 2008 to last year.
Photo: AFP
“We at Blizzard are thrilled to re-establish our partnership with NetEase and to work together, with deep appreciation for the collaboration between our teams, to deliver legendary gaming experiences to players in China,” Blizzard Entertainment president Johanna Faries said in the statement.
NetEase and Microsoft have agreed to explore bringing NetEase titles to Microsoft’s Xbox and other gaming platforms, the companies said.
Several Blizzard’s games were taken offline in China in January last year after the developer terminated the partnership with NetEase citing disagreement over intellectual property control. The pair subsequently sued each other.
Tension eased after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in October last year, which was followed by management changes. Chinese media then reported that Microsoft and NetEase were seeking ways to relaunch Blizzard games in China.
The renewed publishing agreement covers Blizzard’s flagship games World of Warcraft and Hearthstone as well as other titles in the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft franchises, the joint statement showed.
The news would be a welcome boost for NetEase, which like many of the country’s tech giants has had a rough few years after a government crackdown on the industry.
“We have always expected NetEase will regain distribution rights of Blizzard’s games, and the re-engagement translates to about 2 percent incremental earnings for NetEase,” Morningstar Inc analyst Ivan Su (蘇汝哲) said.
Blizzard’s games were popular in China, with local media estimating Chinese players of World of Warcraft alone at about 5 million in 2009 after NetEase became the publisher.
World of Warcraft is an online multiplayer role-playing game set in a fantasy medieval world. It is known for its immersive and addictive gameplay, in which players rack up hundreds of hours of game time.
The breakup sparked an outcry with Chinese players bemoaning lost access to their favorite games. More than 1 million users requested refunds for unspent in-game credit, NetEase customer service said shortly after the games were taken offline.
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