It looks like Blizzard and NetEase are restarting their partnership after the former was acquired by Microsoft as part of the Activision Blizzard deal. Reports suggest that a new deal between the Diablo and Starcraft developer and the Chinese publisher will mark the return of Blizzard titles to the region.
According to a new report from Chinese news site 36Kr, Blizzard and NetEase have struck a new licensing agreement to return to the country. The Diablo developer was reportedly in talks with multiple Chinese publishers before ultimately renewing its partnership with NetEase. Chinese laws require foreign studios to partner with a local gaming company in order to acquire a license to operate within the territory.
Blizzard suspended its services in China in January 2023 after it failed to renew its licensing deal with NetEase in 2022. This left many players without access to popular titles such as Diablo 3, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. Diablo 4, which came out after the licensing agreement expired, cannot be played in China without the use of a VPN.
The fallout between Blizzard and NetEase also caused quite a stir outside of the region with executives from the Chinese Publisher accusing the North American studio of negotiating a six-month extension while talking to other publishers. The publisher ultimately rejected Blizzard’s contract offer, calling it unequal and unfair. NetEase also publicly demolished a giant World of Warcraft statue outside of its Hangzhou headquarters, throwing shade at the failed deal.
This new partnership should excite fans in the region. However, it may take up to six months before players will regain access to Blizzard titles. NetEase will have to rebuild its infrastructure and operations team for servers hosting Blizzard games.
The new licensing contract should allow players in the region to legally purchase Diablo 4. This would give Blizzard’s newest entry into the popular Diablo series a boost in terms of player counts.
The new contract will surely be welcomed by the estimated three million World of Warcraft players in China. The MMORPG has recently announced three new expansions in The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan. Hopefully, the NetEase servers will be up before The War Within launches in 2024.
Another game that may benefit greatly from the new licensing agreement between Blizzard and NetEase is Overwatch 2. The first-person shooter was review bombed on Steam partly because of the failed licensing deal between the two companies. We may see an increase in the review scores of the game on Valve’s storefront once servers for Overwatch 2 become available in China.
Diablo Immortal is the only game currently available in the Chinese market as it is covered by a separate licensing agreement between Blizzard and NetEase.
