After plunging more than 20% last Friday, NetEase opened soaring 13.93% to HK$139 this morning. On the news, there are rumors that NetEase and Blizzard will work together again, and Blizzard’s game national server is expected to return. In this regard, NetEase has not yet publicly responded. Blizzard China responded to the media saying, "There is currently no information or updates to share."
According to Sina Technology, Blizzard may finally choose to re-cooperate with NetEase after negotiating with many domestic game manufacturers. A person familiar with the matter said that he was "very convinced" of the news, but "it seems that we are currently negotiating but have not fully negotiated (the conditions)."
Public information shows that since the agency agreement was reached in 2008, NetEase and Blizzard have cooperated for 14 years. Games such as "World of Warcraft" and "Hearthstone" have accumulated a group of loyal players in China.
On November 16, 2022, Blizzard Entertainment issued a statement stating that since the existing licensing agreement with NetEase will expire on January 23, 2023, most Blizzard game services in mainland China will be suspended, including "World of Warcraft", "Hearthstone", "Overwatch", etc.
Subsequently, NetEase issued a statement in response, saying that after long negotiations, it was still unable to reach an agreement with Activision Blizzard on some key terms of cooperation. It is very regrettable that Activision Blizzard announced the cessation of cooperation today. NetEase will continue to serve players until the last minute.
As for the reason for the cessation of cooperation, Blizzard Entertainment's statement stated that the two parties did not reach a renewal agreement that is in line with Blizzard's operating principles and commitments to players and employees. These agreements will expire in January 2023.
According to foreign media reports, during the contract renewal negotiations between Blizzard and NetEase, Blizzard once asked NetEase to pay a one-time payment of US$500 million to the sky-high contract renewal conditions. It is also reported that Blizzard requires its partners to develop Blizzard mobile games and distribute them globally, but they can only enjoy China's royalties and must pay a huge deposit as a guarantee, otherwise they will be "punished."
The above rumors have not been officially confirmed by Blizzard. On January 17, 2023, Blizzard’s national server was suspended, and NetEase and Blizzard terminated their partnership.
After the cooperation between the two parties ceased, it was revealed that Blizzard had negotiated with many game manufacturers about the return of the Chinese server. The targets of the scandal included Perfect World, Tencent Games, The9, etc. However, as of now, one year has passed and the cooperation partner has not been finalized.
Now, rumors of cooperation between Blizzard and NetEase have resurfaced. The industry believes that Blizzard chose to cooperate with NetEase again because its core value is China's huge game market.
However, it is worth noting that in a Weibo poll, 44% of players said they were "unwilling to return to Blizzard's national server" because they were "worried about something happening again."
Some netizens said, "I spent money and time to go back, and then got divorced. Who would dare to go back if the money and energy were wasted?" "The data is kept while considering whether to return. The data is gone, and there is no way to return." Some netizens also said, "I will definitely reply."