Blizzard and NetEase renew agreement, bringing games back to China

Microsoft, in turn, wants to bring NetEase's titles to the West

Blizzard Entertainment

An ugly divorce between Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase Games saw the American studio’s games leave the Chinese market in 2023. Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was the party held principally responsible for the break-up in Chinese reports back then and the newest developments seem to confirm that – after his departure from the company and its acquisition by Microsoft, Blizzard and NetEase patched up their differences and renewed their agreement.

This means that Blizzard’s games can officially return to China. Summer 2024 is the targeted time frame for the comeback, according to Blizzard’s own statement on the matter.

“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 mainland China and are proud to reaffirm their commitment to delivering exceptional gaming experiences,” Blizzard stated.

Games from the World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo IPs will return to China under the new agreement – details are supposed to follow. Surely, many fans in China will want access to their old accounts back and have to buy all of their games again.

NetEase has been Blizzard's Chinese distribution partner for many years. / NetEase Games

In connection with these movements, Microsoft and NetEase have been in talks as well – they have entered an agreement to bring some of NetEase Games’ portfolio “to Xbox consoles and other platforms.”

“We at Blizzard are thrilled to reestablish our partnership with NetEase and to work together, with deep appreciation for the collaboration between our teams, to deliver legendary gaming experiences to players in China,” commented Blizzard’s new president, Johanna Faries. “We are immensely grateful for the passion the Chinese community has shown for Blizzard games throughout the years, and we are focused on bringing our universes back to players with excellence and dedication.” 

“Celebrating our collaborations, we are thrilled to embark on the next chapter, built on trust and mutual respect, to serve our users in this unique community that we’ve built together,” said William Ding, NetEase’s CEO. “Our commitment to providing more exhilarating and creative entertainment experience remains unwavering, and we are excited to see positive synergies fostered to encourage and empower collaborations to bring the joy of gaming to a broad community.” 

“Blizzard and NetEase have done incredible work to renew our commitment to players – Blizzard’s universes have been part of players’ lives in the region for many years. 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,” added Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming.

Rumors around both parties getting back together have been running rampant in China for several months, probably due to the continued talks between them. Yesterday, a photo of Blizzard and NetEase leadership signing some papers together surfaced.