More than one year back in 2023, Blizzard Games officially shut down its operations in China. Therefore, games like Overwatch and Diablo became unplayable for Chinese players. This happened after Blizzard failed to make a deal with NetEase. However, now there is good news for Chinese gamers. It is now confirmed that Blizzard and NetEase have resolved their licensing disagreement and decided to get back to China with their library of games.
A recent press release confirmed that the clash between Blizzard and NetEase is now over. While Blizzard will release its game library in China, Microsoft will also let NetEase release its titles on Xbox 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. 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.
Johanna Faries, Blizzard
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.
Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming
According to Blizzard, the following games will be released in China: Warcraft, StarCraft, Hearthstone, Diablo, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. The games will be released in China this summer.
Industry experts are expecting everything to be as usual between Blizzard and NetEase just like before.
