[Pc Games] A year and a half after its bitter breakup with NetEase, Blizzard has made a new deal to bring its games back to China—with NetEase

[GL HERO SHIMA]

After being gone for more than a year, Blizzard's biggest games will soon return to China. Blizzard confirmed tonight that it has struck a new deal with NetEase to bring all the games covered by the previous publishing agreement, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, "and other titles in the Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft universes," back to the Chinese market. The new deal will take effect this summer.

"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," Blizzard president Johanna Faries said in a statement. "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."

NetEase began publishing Blizzard games in mainland China in 2008, but that deal expired in January 2023, and was not renewed. Each company naturally pointed the finger at the other: NetEase said it "put in a great deal of effort and tried with our utmost sincerity to negotiate with Activision Blizzard," but that "material differences on key terms" prevented a new deal from being reached; Blizzard said NetEase was to blame for the shutdown because it wasn't willing to extend the existing deal by another six months while Blizzard looked for someone else to take the reins.

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/a-year-and-a-half-after-its-bitter-breakup-with-netease-blizzard-has-reportedly-made-a-new-deal-to-bring-its-games-back-to-chinawith-netease/