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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Amazon Prime Gaming is constantly offering brand-new rewards for a number of video games. This time around, it is bringing free cosmetic items and more for Roblox and a couple of other titles. For those unaware, Roblox is a huge multiplatform game that is based on user-generated content.

Thanks to its accessibility from consoles, PCs, and smartphones, the title sees over 52 million daily active users. In Roblox, you can role-play, play a shooter game, and do so much more. The platform is free, but users are able to make in-game purchases with real money. So now, here’s a few easy steps in claiming the Prime Gaming reward for Roblox:

Free Roblox Skin on Prime Gaming

Roblox is working with Prime Gaming to feature new in-game cosmetic items on the platform. But keep in mind that you need an Amazon Prime subscription to avail this deal. Furthermore, the free Roblox skin is only available on Prime Gaming for a limited time period. Here’s how to claim the reward:

• First, head to the official Prime Gaming website and log in to your Amazon account.
• Look for the Roblox deal by either scrolling down or typing in the search bar.
• Once you find the Roblox reward and click on it, a new webpage will offer you the option to “Get in-game content”.
• Selecting this option will give you a code that you must copy to claim the free skin.

After all of these steps are complete, the only thing left is to redeem the code. So here’s how to claim the item:

• You need to head to the official Roblox website and log in.
• Claim the deal under the redeem codes section.
• Go to “Equip My Avatar”, which is where all your owned items can be found.
• Click on the new item and equip the skin on your character.

Amazon’s Prime Gaming is offering the Freaky Fly Face Avatar Accessory as of right now. You can only claim the item via the browser, but it is accessible across all versions of the game. The item is only available on the platform for free till September 12, so check it out before it goes out of the reward rotation.

Other Notable Deals:

There are currently multiple other free rewards on the platform, which again require an Amazon Prime subscription. If you link your Activision Blizzard account with Amazon Prime Gaming, you can avail three special deals, which include:

• Call of Duty: Warzone 2 WSOW Designated Driver Pack (New Weapon and Character Skins, XP bonuses, and more) – Ends in 27 Days
• Overwatch 2 reward lets you skip over 5 tiers on the in-game Battle Pass – Ends in 28 Days
• World of Warcraft Tabard of Brilliance Transmog is a new cosmetic for your character in WoW. – Ends in 34 Days

Just follow the same steps by heading to the official Prime Gaming website and finding the deals. You just need to link your existing Activision Blizzard account to Amazon by selecting the option to link when claiming the rewards on Prime Gaming and logging in.

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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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World of Warcraft aka WoW is one of the most popular online role-playing video game which was released in the year 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi had previously launched the Redmi Note 8 Pro WoW edition which flew off the shelves. Now, the company has introduced a World of Warcraft 3D book which is offered on a crowdfunding platform at a price of Yuan 229 ($ 33).

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At the time of writing this article, the 3D book has been pre-ordered by close to 4,000 netizens. The crowdfunding amount has already surpassed 1.25 million which is close to 3.7x in comparison to the original target. The book is offered in two variants which include tribal and alliance, while their book box is different with a disparate logo, the content in both variants is the same.

As the word “3D” suggests, the book feature origami styled structures which can collapse or expand as the readers turn its pages. The book contains a total of 46 pages, each of which, commemorates a classic scene in the World of Warcraft. Likewise, in the year 2018, Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts 3D book was launched which was well received by enthusiasts.

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The game is originally available in the English language, but this variant of the 3D book has been translated to Chinese which was derived from the copy that was produced by Blizzard Entertainment. 

The pages of the book can expand as much as 1 square meter which provides the reader with a life-like experience. The book also contains 5 exclusive camp tokens which pay homage to the legendary game.

(via)

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Along with the Redmi Note 8 series smartphones, Xiaomi-backed company had also announced the Redmi Note 8 Pro World of Warcraft Edition, without revealing information about its pricing and availability.

Now, the company has confirmed that this limited edition smartphones — Redmi Note 8 Pro World of Warcraft Edition will go on sale in China from 16th October in a limited quantity of just 5,000 units through the company’s own Xiaomi Mall.

For those who are unaware, the Redmi Note 8 Pro World of Warcraft Edition comes in two variants – a “Horde” variant and an “Alliance” variant, representing the two main factions in Azeroth. Both come with different styled packaging but similar contents.

The Horde variant comes in a black and red colored box while the texts on the outer part of the box are written in red color. Inside the box is the Electro-optic Ash variant of the Redmi Note 8 Pro. There is a black and red case with the emblem of the Horde at the bottom as well as some World of Warcraft cards.

The Alliance variant comes in a white box (blue inside). Inside the box is the Fritillaria White version of the Redmi Note 8 Pro and there is a case too inside the box. It has a black and blue dual-color with the emblem of the Alliance inscribed in white on the lower half and you also get the same cards as the Horde variant.

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Apart from this, the smartphones also come with custom wallpapers, themes (sync online), and icon packs. Other than the special packaging and additional items, the specifications are the same as that of the regular variant.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro comes with an IP52 splash resistant body and is equipped with a 6.53-inch IPS LCD display with waterdrop notch. It supports Full HD+ screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The TUV Rheinland certification for the display ensures that it filters the harmful blue rays.

There’s a MediaTek Helio G90T processor which fuels the Redmi Note 8 Pro smartphone. It is packed with 6GB and 8GB of RAM, depending on the variant you choose and comes in two storage options — 64GB and 128GB. There’s also a dedicated microSD card slot that enables you to further expand the storage capacity on the device.

The quad camera setup on the back includes an f/1.7 aperture 64-megapixel ISOCELL Bright GW1 as primary lens, an ultrawide lens of 8-megapixel, a 2-megapixel macro lens with 2cm focal length and a depth sensor of 2-megapixel. There’s also a 20-megapixel front-facing camera for taking selfies, housed inside the notch on top of the display.

The smartphone runs Android 9 Pie operating system out-of-the-box with MIUI 10 which comes with enhanced gaming experience, thanks to the Game Turbo 2.0 and HyperEngine by MediaTek. The device is powered by a 4,500mAh battery that carries support for 18W rapid charging technology.

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Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi is holding a launch event in China on 29th August where the company is all set to launch the Redmi Note 8 series smartphones as well as its all-new 70-inch Redmi TV.

The company had recently revealed the Redmi Note 8 Pro World of Warcraft 15th Anniversary Limited Edition smartphone and today, Redmi has shared a small teaser video of the same, which is set to launch on 29th August.

These limited-edition models will be a result of the partnership between Redmi and World of Warcraft to celebrate the popular game’s 15th anniversary. The phone will come in two versions. One has a Red and Black box while the other has a Blue and White box.

The contents of this limited gift box edition Redmi Note 8 Pro are currently unknown. We presume there may be a custom theme as well as World of Warcraft wallpapers pre-loaded with the device. The company could also include a custom case for the phone.

World of Warcraft was first released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. It is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and was the most popular MMORPG in 2009. As of 2017, the game had grossed over $9 billion in revenue.

The company has confirmed that the Redmi Note 8 Pro will come powered by the MediaTek Helio G90T chipset, which is focused on gaming users. Redmi has already confirmed that the smartphone will come with liquid-cooling technology to ensure that the phone’s thermal remains under control, even after prolonged heavy usage.

The 12nm Helio G90T includes two Cortex-A76 cores working at 2.05 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores working at 2GHz. It includes ARM Mali G76 graphics that clocks at 800MHz and it carries support 21:9 aspect ratio display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10 standard, up to 10 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.1 storage. The Helio G90 series of chipsets support HyperEngine for improved connectivity between a smartphone and a cellular network.

There is Dual Wi-Fi connection support that allows the phone to connect to two Wi-Fi networks at the same time. Its other features include Call and Data Concurrency, Resource Management Engine and a Picture Quality Engine.

The camera sensors will be placed vertically with three camera sensors followed by a fingerprint reader. Alongside, there’s an LED flash and the fourth camera sensor. Redmi has already shared a few camera samples. The phone will be equipped with features like NFC and IR Blaster and the battery will support 18W fast charging.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro smartphone is confirmed to feature quad cameras at the back with a 64MP primary camera. The company has also shared a few camera samples of the same, which looks really impressive and could be a gamechanger in its segment.

(Source)

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The Redmi Note 8 Pro will be coming in two colors – green and white. We expect more color variants may be announced in the months after its launch. However,  in addition to those two colors, there will also be two limited edition variants of the phone unveiled on Thursday. These limited-edition models will be a result of the partnership between Redmi and World of Warcraft to celebrate the popular game’s 15th anniversary. The official Weibo account for Redmi has shared photos of the special retail boxes the phone will come in.

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The Redmi Note 8 Pro World of Warcraft Limited Edition will be available in two versions. One has a red and black box while the other has a blue and white box. The contents of this limited gift box edition Redmi Note 8 Pro are currently unknown. We presume there may be a custom theme as well as World of Warcraft wallpapers pre-loaded with the device. There may even be a custom case.

More details should surface on August 29 when the Redmi Note 8 pro will be announced.

World of Warcraft was released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. It is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and was the most popular MMORPG in 2009. As at 2017, the game had grossed over $9 billion in revenue.

(Source)

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