Blizzard Entertainment join hands with NetEase after a messy breakup

After the sudden fallout back in 2023 between Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase during the acquisition, the company has now announced a renewed partnership with the Chinese gaming giant to publish their various gaming and esports titles across the country.

This means, players in China will be back on titles like Overwatch 2, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and others. The tournaments for these games will now also include Chinese players.

The announcement came in a press release. “We at Blizzard are thrilled to re-establish our partnership with NetEase and to work together, with deep appreciation for the collaboration between our teams, to deliver legendary gaming experiences to players in China, said Johanna Faries”, President of Blizzard Entertainment.

CEO for NetEase, William Ding also spoke on the new partnership and how it is built on trust and mutual respect despite reportedly turning hostile after Blizzard Entertainment initially broke the partnership.

“Our commitment to providing a more exhilarating and creative entertainment experience remains unwavering, and we are excited to see positive synergies fostered to encourage and empower collaborations to bring the joy of gaming to a broad community,” Ding said.

Microsoft plans to expand their game library

Blizzard previously pulling back from China was reportedly due to ongoing Microsoft acquisition. Not that it’s settled, it is likely that the company plans of tapping the biggest market for gamers once again.

Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer also jumped in talking about their commitment to players and how the partnership will help to achieve that. The Xbox game pass is also seeking to add more gaming to its library as per Spencer.

In his statement, Spencer said, “Blizzard and NetEase have done incredible work to renew our commitment to players – Blizzard’s universes have been part of players’ lives in the region for many years. Returning Blizzard’s legendary games to players in China while exploring ways to bring more new titles to Xbox demonstrates our commitment to bringing more games to more players around the world.”