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Chinese players who had invested over ten years into their World of Warcraft characters were doomed to lose access.
Overwatch and Hearthstone would no longer be available, either.
Blizzard games have been massively popular in China, although the backlash to the firm’s exit was palpable. Overwatch 2 remains one of Steam’s most downvoted games in history, reportedly in part owing to regional fans expressing discontent by leaving negative reviews.
Diablo Immortal would remain the last remnants of the original partnership, licensed under a different contract.
Both parties traded blame for the breakdown in relations.
Blizzard issued statements saying that it sought an extension on their original deal, claiming NetEase had rejected it.
Blizzard games have been massively popular in China, although the backlash to the firm’s exit was palpable. Overwatch 2 remains one of Steam’s most downvoted games in history, reportedly in part owing to regional fans expressing discontent by leaving negative reviews.
Fast-forward to October 2023, and Microsoft has finalized a deal to acquire Activision-Blizzard for over $70 billion.
But what does the partnership mean for Microsoft in a broader context?
What benefits could Xbox gamers across console and PC get out of this?
World of Warcraft is one of the world’s most successful ever games, owing to its historic resilience, on-going development, frequent premium expansions, and monthly subscription fee.
And how will the partnership shape Blizzard games in the future?
This is exciting for everyone at Xbox, Blizzard, and for players everywhere.
It’s a great thing for Chinese gamers, for sure.
One of NetEase’s most successful games in the west is Naraka: Bladepoint, and Microsoft previously partnered with NetEase to launch the game into Xbox Game Pass.
But what does the link up mean beyond the obvious?
It’s a $47.7 billion market.
And by 2028, it’ll be over $55 billion.
So it’s still growing."
Just how lucrative is that piece of the pie for Blizzard, and by extension, Microsoft Gaming?
Incredibly lucrative, is the answer.
Indeed, and that’s only one of Blizzard’s games.
NetEase’s stock price slid by 15% when the initial break-up went down.
And two is a Chinese publisher to distribute and operate the game in the country."
Thankfully, NetEase and Microsoft are already on pretty good terms.
“NetEase has traditionally been known for MMO-styled games in the past, both on PC and mobile.
Could Project Mugen be Xbox’s answer to Genshin Impact on PlayStation?
Perhaps there are also games that will lend themselves well to cloud gaming, from NetEase’s sizeable library.
And you saw just how much money goes through these titles, when localized properly.
