In 2022, Blizzard declined to renew a partnership with NetEase that brought PC titles to mainland China, resulting in most of Blizzard’s games being taken offline in that market. Now, with Microsoft’s involvement as Activision-Blizzard’s new parent company, the deal with NetEase has been re-established, and Blizzard’s games will be brought back to China.
The initial break between Blizzard and NetEase appeared messy on both sides, with statements from both companies laying blame on the other. The move was also a major contributor to Overwatch 2 being review bombed, with many of the negative reviews coming from annoyed Chinese players.
It was expected that Blizzard was looking for an alternative partner for distribution in the Chinese market, but it has now landed back with NetEase, with parent company Microsoft also signing the agreement.
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Source: Gamespot