Today (April 9th), there is new news about the return of Blizzard's national server.
According to media reports, photos obtained from a blogger show that NetEase CEO Ding Lei and Blizzard's new CEO Johanna Faries are meeting. The blogger also stated that "Blizzard's return will be officially announced within this week.".
NetEase officials have confirmed this matter with Sina Technology. According to NetEase, "The return of Blizzard's national server will definitely be officially announced on April 10th."
The Daily Economic News reporter contacted NetEase and Blizzard as soon as possible to verify the news. As of the time of publication, neither party has responded.
In November 2022, Activision Blizzard and NetEase issued statements announcing the end of their partnership. Subsequently, NetEase announced on the official website of World of Warcraft that Blizzard Games, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Watchman, Diablo III, StarCraft II, Warcraft III: Remastered, and Storm Heroes, will cease operations at 0:00 on January 24, 2023.
NetEase and Blizzard began their collaboration in 2008, not only deeply collaborating on gaming products, but also establishing a joint venture company. At that time, the sudden "breakup" between the two caused a "big earthquake" in the gaming industry, and social media platforms were filled with howls of sorrow, with many players openly feeling betrayed.
Regarding the inability to renew the contract, NetEase once responded to reporters, saying, "After long negotiations, we still cannot reach an agreement with Activision Blizzard on some key terms of cooperation."
Since the two parted ways, there have been frequent rumors of Blizzard's return, and Blizzard's search for other agents has always been highly regarded by the market. News has been circulating about Tencent, miHoYo, and others.
Half a year ago, some sources claimed that Blizzard was in negotiations with multiple game developers, including NetEase and Tencent, regarding the return of the Chinese server. Regarding this, some people close to Tencent have stated that "Rubik's Cube Studio" is a self-developed studio under Tencent and will not act as an agent for external products, so the rumors are inaccurate. At that time, Blizzard staff also told the Daily Economic News reporter, "There is currently no news to share."
Now, after more than a year of wandering around, Blizzard may once again join hands with NetEase. Just this time, will Chinese players and the Chinese market still pay with real gold and silver?
In response to the above news, a senior game investor who has worked hard in the game industry for many years said in an interview with a reporter on WeChat: "Not surprisingly, it's just a matter of timing." Speaking of the attitude of future Chinese players, the above investor said: "NetEase may not attach much importance to this business. Now the 'adult era' has changed, and Genshin Impact has started."