Recently, Blizzard and NetEase broke off their alliance, and with it, games like World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, the StarCraft series, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm disappeared from China. We now know that this happened because of Bobby Kotick and the purchase of Activision.
A report from The New York Times (via Eurogamer) reveals that a misunderstanding damaged the relationship between Activision Blizzard and NetEase, which in part caused their breakup and made it impossible to agree on a new agreement. It all happened because Bobby Kotick felt threatened by Ding Lei, head of NetEase.
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Blizzard and NetEase ended their alliance due to a mix-up
According to the details, the companies discussed and negotiated in order to continue their alliance in China. However, things took an unexpected turn due to a misunderstanding. Sources revealed that Kotick and Ding spoke through translators on a major call on the matter.
At some point in the conversation, Kotick felt that Ding was threatening him, as he talked about Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the decision by the Chinese authorities. Somehow, Kotick thought that Ding was conditioning him and that NetEast could influence the decisions of the regulators.
However, we know that this was not really the case, as Ding only spoke of the possible obstacles that the acquisition could face in China and its relationship with the agreements between Blizzard and NetEase. So there was a mix-up and Kotick felt threatened.
This undoubtedly contributed to the relationship between the studios ending permanently and millions of players in China being left without their favorite Blizzard titles. Earlier, NetEase blamed the World of Warcraft studio for everything that happened.
Meanwhile, Blizzard is still looking for a new partner after everything that happened. So their games are yet to return to China despite their enormous popularity.
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Look for more news related to Activision Blizzard at this link. On the other hand, here you will find more information about the industry in China.
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