Blizzard and NetEase renew agreement to bring games back to China!

Weilin Li -- Superpixel Blizzard Entertainment said in a statement on November 16 that it will suspend most of its Blizzard game services in China due to the expiration of the current licensing agreement with NetEase. The relevant services will be terminated on January 23, 2023. In response to this statement, NetEase made an announcement on November 17. The developer thanked the "continuous support and love for Blizzard game products."

Johnson Ge -- Superpixel On January 17th, Blizzard China posted an announcement to its game communities in China. In the announcement, Blizzard China revealed they were in negotiation with NetEase last week, trying to convince them to extend Blizzard’s game operation services in China for six extra months but were rejected. The announcement soon received countless comments, and most of them wrote negatively about Blizzard.

In a very recent development, China has given the green light to 87 new video games, marking a big step in the recovery of its local gaming market. This move includes the approval of a popular title, “The Division Resurgence,” a mobile spin-off from Ubisoft‘s acclaimed Tom Clancy’s The Division series. The game, which enjoys backing from Tencent Holdings, is a third-person shooter and represents a key addition to Ubisoft’s gaming portfolio.