Blizzard Entertainment may soon reveal its new partner to operate World of Warcraft and other games in China.
Blizzard will not renew the license agreement with NetEase but find another partner in the mainland. Reports from inside China say NetEase has laid off most of the staff at the joint venture with Blizzard, the company responsible for operating World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and other games by the US studio in the country.
Chinese companies Tencent, Perfect World, ByteDance and Alibaba Group are said to be four potential partners. Blizzard’s negotiations with a new Chinese reseller are progressing rapidly, and the World of Warcraft developer is poised to choose between the two companies.
Blizzard chia tay NetEase.
The long-term license agreement between Blizzard and NetEase expired in November 2022. The company has halted all in-app purchases for Chinese players, and the games will be temporarily closed. on January 23.
China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) has issued publishing licenses for 45 foreign games, according to Reuters. This is the first batch of games approved by non-Chinese companies in 18 months. The regulator also licensed 84 mainland games in December, including six Tencent titles. Other major companies that will receive approval this month include NetEase, ByteDance, iDreamSky and XD Inc.
The list of discontinued titles includes World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo III, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and the StarCraft series. Diablo Immortal is the only game that continues to operate in China because it is governed by a separate agreement. Blizzard is urgently looking for a new partner to operate its products in China but also to ensure that they comply with the country’s strict regulations and content policies.
If Blizzard fails to strike a new long-term agreement with another company, it will lose its revenue from China, as well as access to millions of players in the country.
Another development Activision Blizzard intends to announce fourth quarter 2022 results after the market close on February 6, 2023. As announced on January 18, 2022, Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard at $95 per share in an all-cash transaction. Trades are subject to normal closing conditions and complete regulatory review. The transaction was approved by the boards of directors of both Activision Blizzard and Microsoft as well as by Activision Blizzard shareholders.
In accordance with the proposed transaction with Microsoft, and as is customary in the meantime, Activision Blizzard will hold the conference, giving a detailed revenue presentation along in the fourth quarter of 2022.
