Caitlyn Taylor April 10th, 2024 - 4:13 AM
After months of uncertainty, Blizzard games will finally be making their return to China. According to a recent press release, China is expected to see the return of Blizzard games this summer after lengthy discussions between Blizzard and NetEase. In addition to renewing their publishing agreement, it was revealed that both companies are exploring bringing new NetEase titles to “Xbox consoles and other platforms.”
William Ding, NetEase Chief Executive Officer and Director (CEO) William Ding said Blizzard Entertainment President Johanna Faries, issued statements celebrating their resumed collaboration.
“Celebrating our collaborations, we are thrilled to embark on the next chapter, built on trust and mutual respect, to serve our users in this unique community that we’ve built together.” said Ding. “Our commitment to providing more exhilarating and creative entertainment experience remains unwavering, and we are excited to see positive synergies fostered to encourage and empower collaborations to bring the joy of gaming to a broad community.”
“We at Blizzard are thrilled to reestablish 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,” said Faries. “We are immensely grateful for the passion the Chinese community has shown for Blizzard games throughout the years, and we are focused on bringing our universes back to players with excellence and dedication.”
Our legendary worlds are for all to share & that includes our passionate Chinese community.
We are pleased to announce a new agreement with NetEase to bring Blizzard games back to mainland China. Thank you for your patience & support.
🔗 https://t.co/zE5XkmE84K pic.twitter.com/W4kxz1XcPF
— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) April 10, 2024
Blizzard and NetEase had ended their longtime partnership in December 2022 due to conflict over their licensing agreements. Recent years has seen NetEase re-evaluating their production strategy towards licences games in an effort to focus more on their own IP. Luckily, the company has shown that it is continuing to stick with licensed games in some capacity.
Chinese players will be able to resume playing, StarCraft, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Diablo titles soon. For more information and future updates, head over to Blizzard and NetEase’s official websites and social media.
