Exclusive | NetEase team handling Blizzard games in China to dissolve as 14-year partnership comes to an end

Most staff at the Shanghai-based unit under Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology, an affiliate of NetEase, have already left, according to sources

The Shanghai team’s dissolution quashes speculation on Chinese social media that Blizzard and NetEase might strike a last-minute deal

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NetEase is dissolving the Shanghai-based team responsible for operating titles licensed from US game publisher Blizzard Entertainment, according to sources. Photo: Shutterstock

Ann Caoin ShanghaiandTracy Quin Shanghai

Published: 8:30pm, 13 Jan 2023

Chinese video gaming giant NetEase is disbanding the local team responsible for operating titles licensed from US game publisher Blizzard Entertainment, according to three people familiar with the matter, as the two parties put an end to one of the most profitable and enduring US-China business partnerships in the world’s largest video gaming market.

The Shanghai-based unit under Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology, an affiliate of NetEase – China’s second-largest video gaming company by revenue – has laid off or arranged internal transfers for “most staff”, according to the sources, who declined to be named as the information is private.

NetEase did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

In this file photo, a college student plays the online game World of Warcraft in his dormitory room. Photo: AP Photo

The team had no more than 100 people before it was dissolved, and most of them left once it became clear in November that NetEase and Blizzard were no longer renewing their 14-year licensing agreement, according to one person. A small number of technical staff were transferred to other teams in Shanghai.

“It seems like there is no hope for an extension of the agreement,” he said.

The team is not considered a large department in NetEase and most of its members are operational personnel, as game development is handled by Blizzard in the US, another person said.

Around 10 team members are staying behind to handle the logistics surrounding the suspension of various games, such as technical and customer service issues, but they are unlikely to stay longer than six months, a third person said.

A NetEase building in Hangzhou, china. Photo: Shutterstock

Exclusive | NetEase team handling Blizzard games in China to dissolve as 14-year partnership comes to an end

Most staff at the Shanghai-based unit under Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology, an affiliate of NetEase, have already left, according to sources The Shanghai team’s dissolution quashes speculation on Chinese social media that Blizzard and NetEase might strike a last-minute deal

Most staff at the Shanghai-based unit under Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology, an affiliate of NetEase, have already left, according to sources

The Shanghai team’s dissolution quashes speculation on Chinese social media that Blizzard and NetEase might strike a last-minute deal