Blizzard Entertainment: the existing license contract with NetEase will expire and most game services will be suspended on Chinese mainland.

CTOnews.com, Nov. 17, Blizzard Entertainment issued a statement today that most of Blizzard game services on Chinese mainland will be suspended because the existing licensing agreement with NetEase expires on January 23, 2023.

These Blizzard games include World of Warcraft, hearthstone Legend, Watch Pioneer, StarCraft, Warcraft III: remake, Diablo III, and Storm Hero. In addition, the joint development and release of Diablo: immortality involves a separate agreement between the two companies.

The statement pointed out that the two sides have not yet reached a renewal agreement in line with Blizzard's operating principles and commitments to players and employees. Blizzard Entertainment said new sales will be suspended in the next few days and Chinese players will receive more details soon.

CTOnews.com learned that Activision Blizzard mentioned some possible future problems with Blizzard's domestic business in China when it released its results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 last week. At that time, Blizzard said that the agreement with NetEase would expire in January 2023. Blizzard officials said they were discussing renewing these agreements, but may not be able to reach an agreement satisfactory to both sides.

Activision Blizzard reported net revenue of $1.782 billion in the third quarter, compared with $2.07 billion in the same period last year, net booking revenue of $1.83 billion, down 3 per cent from a year earlier, and net profit of $435 million, down 32 per cent from a year earlier. Blizzard points out that its license agreement with NetEase accounts for about 3 per cent of Activision's combined net revenue in 2021.

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