China Economic Weekly - Economic Net News: Recently, media reports have reported that Blizzard has been negotiating with multiple domestic game manufacturers for the return of the Chinese server in the past period of time, and has ultimately chosen to cooperate with NetEase again. It is understood that after the cooperation is confirmed, NetEase and Blizzard need to rebuild the national server operation team and test the servers and related systems. Therefore, players may have to wait for half a year or more for the game to be re launched.
It is worth noting that the Southern Metropolis Daily reported that starting from December 20th, the World of Warcraft community has been re launched on the "NetEase God" platform, and the World of Warcraft community has started updating related "blue posts" content, including new content such as the War of the Earth and the Warcraft Exploration server. Previously, news about NetEase ceasing to represent World of Warcraft in the community circle could no longer be searched. On the 26th, topics such as # NetEase Blizzard Reunion # # Why Blizzard's National Service Returns and the Biggest Gossip Object Still Remains at NetEase # made it to the hot search on Weibo.
Some netizens have expressed that, "I really miss my Watch Pioneer account a bit." "If I care about returning, is my game account still there?" "After breaking up, you can't find someone more suitable than me." "Even if you want to return as early as May next year, it will be after that." "I won't play it again. There will be a first and a second time, and I don't want to be abandoned casually anymore." "I don't know if it's true or false, let's wait for official announcement." "Did all the Warcraft return to zero and everyone level up again?"
According to the Shanghai Securities News, NetEase has stated that it will not respond to the news of a possible re cooperation with Blizzard. A person close to the company stated that NetEase's previous team responsible for operating Blizzard's national server has disbanded this year, and the possibility of restructuring the team for Blizzard in the short term is not high.
According to the previous report, on November 16, 2022, Activision Blizzard released a statement on the official website of its headquarters investors, saying that the current licensing agreement with NetEase will expire on January 23, 2023, when most of Blizzard's game services in Chinese Mainland will be suspended, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone Legend, Warcraft III: Rebirth, Watch Vanguard, Starcraft series Diablo III and Storm Hero. The joint development and distribution of Diablo Immortal will be agreed upon by two separate companies. NetEase responded to Activision Blizzard's statement on the same day, stating that, "NetEase has been making every effort to negotiate with Activision Blizzard in the hope of advancing the contract renewal. After a long period of negotiations, we are still unable to reach an agreement on some key terms of cooperation with Activision Blizzard. We are very sorry that Activision Blizzard announced the cessation of cooperation today, and we will have to accept this decision. NetEase will continue to fulfill its responsibilities and serve our players until the last moment."
In October of this year, after more than a year of tug of war, the dust settled on Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This means that Blizzard is about to make adjustments in terms of executive team configuration, strategic direction, and other aspects. However, the so-called "Devil CEO" in the industry has a poor reputation among many NetEase employees who participated in the collaboration with Blizzard. Codick has announced that he will officially step down on December 29th. The acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Kodiaq by Microsoft may also be one of the reasons for NetEase and Blizzard to ease their relationship.
In November this year, at the Blizzard Carnival, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra said in an interview with the media, "There are millions of players in Chinese Mainland who love Blizzard games, and all Blizzard people hope they can play our games. We are a global company, and I hope Blizzard games can be found in every country and region in the world, including Chinese Mainland."
It is reported that as one of the most successful online games in history, World of Warcraft has approximately one million gamers in the China region, including "veteran players" who have been loyal followers for over a decade. If we include popular games such as Warcraft and Hearthstone, Blizzard has nearly ten million Chinese players. Previously, the operating units of game titles such as World of Warcraft, Watchman, and Hearthstone were all managed by Shanghai NetEase Network Technology Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of NetEase. Therefore, if Blizzard's national server wants to return, it is difficult to avoid NetEase games.
According to the Notice of the Three Departments of the State Council on Further Strengthening the Management of Online Games, for online games that have undergone pre-approval or import approval by the General Administration of Press and Publication, if the operating unit is changed, the pre-approval or import approval procedures must be re processed. From the date of the change of operating unit to the period of re approval, all operational services of online games should be suspended. Violators will be treated as illegal online publishing. Recently, the State Administration of Press and Publication released the "Draft Measures for the Administration of Online Games (Soliciting Opinions)", which clearly states that if there is a substantial change in the approved content of online games, or if the game name, game publishing unit, or main operating institution is changed, the online game publishing unit should go through relevant approval procedures in accordance with regulations.
For Blizzard, there are currently only two options: either to reconcile with NetEase Games and return to the Chinese market using the previous game licenses; Either choose a new agent, spend some time polishing the game operation capabilities and understanding between both parties, and spend a certain amount of time applying for an imported game license.