{"id":171094,"date":"2024-04-16T18:30:42","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T18:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=171094"},"modified":"2024-04-17T16:12:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T16:12:25","slug":"world-of-warcraft-revives-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/gaming\/world-of-warcraft-revives-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"World of Warcraft Revives in China Through Blizzard and NetEase Collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase have renewed their partnership, reintroducing <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">‘World of Warcraft’<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and other games to the Chinese market.<\/span><\/p>\n <!-- <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n } else {\r\n jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n }\r\n });\r\n })\r\n <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n <span style=\"background-color:#39b54a;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#39b54a;background-color:rgba(57, 181, 74, 0.1);\">\r\n <li>Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase have reinstated their partnership to bring 'World of Warcraft' and other games back to China.<\/li>\r\n <li>The agreement comes after a temporary fallout that had significant financial repercussions for both companies.<\/li>\r\n <li>The gaming community has reacted positively, anticipating the return of their favorite games to the largest gaming market.<\/li>\r\n <\/ul>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Resurgence of Blizzard in China: New Agreements and Expectations<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Blizzard Entertainment has successfully renewed its partnership with NetEase<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, bringing its main game, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">World of Warcraft (WoW)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and other famous games, like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diablo <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/gaming\/curbing-game-disruptions-overwatch-players-eye-call-of-dutys-punitive-measures-for-habitual-quitters\/\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overwatch<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, back to the Chinese market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This move comes after a short time away and talks with other potential partners that eventually led them back to NetEase.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This return aims to boost Blizzard’s presence in the <\/span><b>world\u2019s largest video gaming market by revenue <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">despite recent challenges, including a decline in the WoW player base from 5 million in 2009 to approximately 350,000 by early 2023\u200b.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Historical Context and Future Directions<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially, Blizzard worked with The9 to bring <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">World of Warcraft <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to China in 2004, then changed to a new partner, NetEase, in 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This <\/span><b>partnership ended in early 2023 because both parties couldn’t agree on a new contract<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After this,<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/gaming\/activision-blizzard-settles-doj-lawsuit-over-esports-salary-cap-allegations\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the company that owns Blizzard. This big change helped Blizzard and NetEase renegotiate terms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, under Microsoft, <\/span><b>Blizzard is one of the world’s top three video game companies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, along with Tencent and Sony. This setup gives Blizzard a strong base that the company can use to work in China.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Operational Challenges and Regulatory Hurdles<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The agreement’s execution will require at least <\/span><b>six months as both companies must reassemble operations teams <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and test new servers to ensure smooth gameplay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This delay reflects the <\/span><b>logistical and regulatory complexities of distributing foreign video games <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in China, where strict content guidelines and playtime restrictions for minors are enforced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These regulations necessitate foreign games to be published through local partners, a requirement that Blizzard and NetEase are now navigating to align with local norms.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cultural Impact and Market Response<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The comeback of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">World of Warcraft<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and other Blizzard games is expected to <\/span><b>greatly affect Chinese gamers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, many of whom eagerly anticipated the game\u2019s return even though it had been gone for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This return means more than just business \u2014 it’s about reconnecting with a game that has been important in China for many years.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What’s Next? Expectations and Setup for WoW’s Comeback<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">World of Warcraft<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> prepares for its return, gamers and industry experts are closely watching how Blizzard will handle China’s changing rules and market trends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Blizzard successfully re-enters the Chinese market, it could surpass previous highs and regain its influence in the worldwide gaming industry.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10028,"featured_media":171126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[407],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}