The video game division of Microsoft and the Chinese multinational NetEase They just confirmed a few hours ago the consolidation of their new alliance to take to the games of Activision-Blizzard-King to eastern lands again. This news was shared by both companies through their respective press departments, confirming the return of iconic franchises such as world of warcraft, Devil and Starcraftamong others, to the Chinese market in a period yet to be determined.
A highly anticipated return – Microsoft x NetEase
Rumors about this new rapprochement between both multinationals had been occurring since the end of last March., after multiple analysts and insiders in the sector claimed to have knowledge of meetings that were taking place between Microsoft and its Asian counterpart. Thus, since the early hours of yesterday, many journalists close to this scoop considered that the announcement of this renewed agreement was imminent and that it was only a matter of hours until it was made official through the spokespersons of both editors.
In this way and through an attached statement, Johanna Fariespresident of Blizzard Entertainmentsaid she was totally grateful for reestablishing the association between Microsoft and NetEase:
At Blizzard, we are excited to reestablish our partnership with NetEase and be able to work together, with deep appreciation for the collaboration between both teams, to bring our legendary gaming experiences to all players in China.
Some comments by Chinese analysts also share these encouraging tints given the great influence that this agreement will have on the expansionist plans of the Chinese company. The words spoken by Jialong Shihead of Internet cyber capital research at Nomura, echo this statement, commenting that: “This could be a significant long-term boost for NetEase as it seeks to increase its overseas exposure.”
Let us remember that NetEase saw a 2% rise in its share price and a 3% growth in its earnings during Wednesday’s trading session, remaining China’s second-largest video game company, trailing only the giant Tencent.
It is worth mentioning that this new alliance between Microsoft and NetEase comes after the original agreement, almost 15 years old, between Blizzard together with NetEase was terminated after certain discrepancies between what was then the executive board led by Bobby Kotick and the Chinese conglomerate. It was due to this decision that many games published by Activision-Blizzard-King were no longer available in China in January 2023, affecting millions of Chinese citizens, who lost access to their favorite games.
In this way, the renewed agreement between Microsoft and NetEase will allow the star games of Blizzard as world of warcraft, Overwatch 2the Devil Saga and other upcoming franchises can reach the Chinese public starting next summer. This will be great news for other fans around the world, since the expansion of a company of this magnitude to a territory as massive as China will be a great starting point to greatly increase the sale of video games. With this, not only more titles will be released to the public, but they will be of an even higher quality than what has been seen in recent years.
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