Blizzard Games Could Return To China With New NetEase Deal

News Snapshot:

In 2022, game studio Blizzard and Chinese internet provider and gaming giant NetEase failed to come to an agreement, ending their 14-year relationship and effectively pulling the former’s marquee titles from Chinese markets. It was a tough blow to both parties, whose partnership helped bring huge titles like World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2, and most recently, Overwatch 2, to a massive region of the world. Negotiations reportedly fell through due to messy communications between the two, when at one point NetEase made a “conciliatory gesture” to sway Chinese regulators on Microsoft’s then-pending acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Activision-Blizzard’s reps mistook the offer...