Blizzard resumes NetEase alliance

Renewed partnership to see games return to China as early as summer, the firms say

Blizzard Entertainment, the video game giant behind World of

Warcraft, is resuming its partnership with NetEase under new owner Microsoft, marking a revival of the most enduring US-China video game tie-up after it came to an acrimonious end around a year ago.

Confirming an earlier report by the Post, the two companies renewed a publishing agreement that would cover games under the previous arrangement, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone

and other titles in the Warcraft,

Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft universes, according to a joint statement yesterday.

These titles were expected to start returning to China as early as this summer, the firms said.

“After continuing discussions over the past year, both Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase are thrilled to align on a path forward to once again support players in China and are proud to reaffirm their commitment to delivering exceptional gaming experiences,” the statement said.

Last January, the two companies suspended services for all Blizzard titles in China, except for

Diablo Immortal, a mobile title co-developed by NetEase and Blizzard, as their 14-year partnership came to an end.

Both sides blamed each other for treating Chinese players badly after failing to agree to new terms to extend the deal.

The latest announcement comes five months after tech giant Microsoft finalised a US$68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, the parent firm of Blizzard Entertainment.

Separately, the new deal also deepens cooperation between Microsoft and NetEase, with the aim of bringing new NetEase titles to Xbox consoles and other platforms, according to the statement.

“Returning Blizzard’s legendary games to players in China while exploring ways to bring more new titles to Xbox demonstrates our commitment to bringing more games to more players around the world,” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.

The news sparked excitement from Chinese players on social media.

The return of Blizzard was the top trending topic on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo immediately after the announcement, getting more than 100 million views within two hours.

“I’ve been wandering in foreign servers for over a year, and finally I can come back home,” one Weibo user commented.

However, there is still work to be done before the games become available for Chinese players.

NetEase is looking to fill positions including game operations planners, engineers and project managers for World

of Warcraft, Hearthstone and Overwatch under its Leihuo gaming studio, according to new job posts yesterday.

After the previous partnership ended last January, NetEase disbanded the local team responsible for operating Blizzard titles in Shanghai, the Post reported earlier.