Blizzard Returns to China After New Deal
2Blizzard's Return: Blizzard Entertainment games are coming back to mainland China in the summer of 2024 after being off the market for about a year and a half.
New Agreement: Blizzard, now owned by Microsoft, has reached a new agreement with NetEase to reintroduce all games previously available to Chinese players. This includes popular titles like Overwatch, Diablo, and World of Warcraft.
Additional Collaboration: Aside from the agreement to return Blizzard's games to China, Microsoft and NetEase have also signed another deal to bring NetEase games to the Xbox and other Microsoft platforms.
Background Issues: The original split between Blizzard and NetEase occurred in January 2023 due to an inability to agree on the terms for renewing their publishing deal. This was after a fallout in November 2022, where Blizzard wanted to extend the agreement, but NetEase refused, citing disagreements over terms and interpersonal conflicts.
Commitment and Future Plans: Phil Spencer from Microsoft highlighted the strategic move as part of a commitment to making more games accessible worldwide, although he did not provide specific details on what new titles might be introduced.
Market Re-entry: Blizzard has been actively looking for ways to re-enter the Chinese market after the expiration of their previous contract and has now successfully negotiated a new deal with NetEase.