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Blizzard’s China Comeback with World of Warcraft Signals New Gaming Era

Anubhav — Tue, 26 Dec 2023 13:52:14 +0000

The gaming landscape is buzzing with the news that Blizzard Entertainment, the American video game titan, might rekindle its partnership with China’s NetEase. This development could signal the return of the legendary game World of Warcraft (WoW) to China, a major market for online gaming.

Blizzard ultimately returned thanks to NetEase

Blizzard’s quest to reintroduce WoW in China has been a challenging journey. Following the lapse of their initial agreement with NetEase in early 2023, Blizzard explored collaborations with other Chinese publishers but ultimately circled back to NetEase. This move, as reported by 36Kr, hints at a nuanced understanding between the two gaming giants, despite previous disputes.

The potential resurgence of WoW in China is not just a business maneuver; it’s a cultural revival. WoW has been a prominent name in Chinese gaming since 2009, though its player base has dwindled from 5 million to around 350,000 by January 2023. The game’s return could reinvigorate its presence in the world’s largest video gaming market by revenue.

But this reunion isn’t just a walk in the park. Before WoW graces Chinese screens again, Blizzard and NetEase will need to rebuild their operations team and ensure the game servers are up to the task, a process that could take at least six months.

Meanwhile, Blizzard’s gaming portfolio suffered in China due to the regulatory landscape that mandates foreign games to be published through local partners. This requirement is part of China’s broader approach to managing its gaming industry, which includes strict content guidelines and playtime restrictions for minors.

The backdrop to this potential Blizzard-NetEase reunion is Microsoft‘s recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Blizzard’s parent company. This merger, worth $68.7 billion, has cleared significant regulatory hurdles and could play a pivotal role in shaping Blizzard’s strategy in China in the near future.

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Blizzard Entertainment hit by DDoS attack, Diablo IV & other games Down for Hours

Anubhav — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 02:25:20 +0000

Diablo IV just came out, and Blizzard has been largely satisfied with the response it’s getting from the community. The game has a lot to offer for gamers, especially fans of the Diablo franchise. However, it seems that someone is either jealous of the response the game is getting or someone simply didn’t like the game that much because Diablo IV encountered a major setback this weekend as the company’s Battle.net online service fell victim to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Players were left frustrated and unable to access Diablo IV, World of Warcraft, and other Blizzard titles. The attack disrupted gameplay and annoyed a whole bunch of people.

An offline mode would’ve let users just enjoy the game on the weekend

Since the early hours of Sunday morning, the Battle.net service experienced severe disruptions due to an apparent DDoS attack. Players encountered high latency and frequent disconnections, rendering the games literally unplayable. Blizzard’s customer support account acknowledged the issue in no time, stating that the company was actively monitoring the ongoing attack. Numerous reports on Reddit exhibited the frustration experienced by players who were unable to access the games for at least 10 to 12 hours. Such incidents tend to spark demands from players for an offline mode, which would allow them to play without a connection to online servers.

By 12:30 PM ET, Blizzard had not yet resolved the issue, and players continued to face connectivity problems. A notification displayed on the Battle.net launcher confirmed the ongoing DDoS attack and assured players that the company was actively working to mitigate the situation. However, as frustration kept growing, social media calls for Blizzard to implement an offline mode in Diablo IV grew louder.

An update at 1:36 PM ET brought some relief to affected players. Blizzard announced that the DDoS attacks had ceased as of 1:18 PM ET. However, if players were still encountering connection issues, the company advised following troubleshooting advice available on their website. It remains to be seen whether the attack will have any long-term consequences for the stability and security of the Battle.net platform.

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World of Warcraft & Overwatch Are Going Offline in China, Here’s Why

Sean — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 13:52:52 +0000

Blizzard Entertainment is shutting down two of its most popular online multiplayer games in China. The servers for the company’s massively successful World of Warcraft and Overwatch are going offline. This news was followed by many taking to social media platforms to express their grievances, since both titles collectively had tens of million of players in the region alone. Many are still unclear as to why Blizzard is shutting its servers in China, so here are all the details.

NetEase And Blizzard’s Partnership Lasted 14-years In China

The decision from Blizzard to shut down the servers in China is due to a major fallout with its local publisher, NetEase. For those unaware, game developer Blizzard had partnered with NetEase for the past 14 years to have its popular titles be available in the Chinese market. This cooperation was inevitable considering the rigid and strict market rules the Chinese government places on the gaming industry. So since 2008, Blizzard’s massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft (aka WoW) had its servers managed by NetEase in China.

Notably, this publisher is also behind other major Western games like Minecraft. So, it was a solid deal for the Chinese company since it boosted it to become the second-largest games distributor in the region, just behind Tencent Holdings. But now, both firms broke off their deal, following talks late last year regarding the licensing agreement that allowed Blizzard to run its Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch titles. However, after a public fallout, NetEase accused Blizzard of being “rude and inappropriate.”

This statement was made after Blizzard offered to extend their licensing agreement for another six months while they work out new terms. NetEase stated that this idea was the same as “proposing a divorce while still engaging with the same partner”. While the game devs IPs were licensed by NetEase, they were still owned by Blizzard. Following talks, NetEase rejected this offer from the developer. Thus, Blizzard’s games went offline on the midnight of January 23. Notably, the company has also promised World of Warcraft players to save their progress with a new service.

All May Not Be Lost For Blizzard In China

China and the US are two of the biggest gaming markets in the world, and Blizzard Entertainment has faced a lot of criticism for going out of its way to remain active in the former market. During the outbreak of protests in Hong Kong, it had even banned esports athletes from its tournaments over statements that sided against the Chinese government. So it is clear that Blizzard aims to continue its service in the country. Meaning, while the developer has lost its ability to run its popular games in China right now, there is a possibility that the shutdown isn’t permanent. In other words, the company might return to the region with a different partner.

Keep in mind that this is still just speculation at the moment, so take this with a pinch of salt for now. Although, if this does end up happening, it would be great news for many gamers in China. One fan of the World of Warcraft wrote that “It is truly a sad day for World of Warcraft players and Blizzard Entertainment fans everywhere,” while another stated that “The sudden shutdown is a stark reminder of impermanence, displacing millions of players”.

Interestingly enough, the president of NetEase’s global investment, Simon Zhu, also added that he had spent over 10,000 hours playing those games and expressed his disapproval of Blizzard’s actions.

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